We Could Have Had It All
by CommanderCousland
Summary: "Haruno Sakura is a fine prize to be won. Which is why I ask, no, demand her hand in marriage." Prince Ranmaru smirked. "Her hand in marriage will determine Konoha's allegiance with Tsukigakure. Should she refuse, it will be war." Enter Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1: Unlucky Sakura

**_We Could Have Had It All_**

**_Sakura Haruno is unlucky. Sure, she's beautiful, smart and strong, but many things seem to go wrong. But her unluckiness just hit the jackpot with the prince of Tsukigakure, Ranmaru Hotohori, who'll unfortunately go to extreme messures to get what he wants. "Haruno Sakura is a fine woman. Apprentice of the Godaime Hokage, and a member of the infamous Team Seven, which is rumoured to be the Second Sannin. Beautiful, smart, strong, she's a fine prize to be won. Which is why I ask, no, demand her hand in marriage. Her hand in marriage will determine Konoha's alliegance with Tsuki. Should she refuse, well...I imagine you are all smart enough to know the consequences." Ranmaru smirked. One choice. One chance. One kunoichi...One Uchiha refusing to let her go._**

AN: So...not much is known aboht Tsukigakure, aka Hidden Moon Village, which is pretty much why I thought it was going to be perfect, since I need a village and I needed it to be known as little as possible so I could practically invent that place. This is my first Naruto fic, but I'm not gonna go all 'ooh be easy on me just cuz it's my first fic'...(INNER MAX: THAT'S A LIE! SHE'S ONLY SAYING THAT TO GET SYMPATHY! TRUTH IS IF SHE GETS ONE FLAME SHE'LL DIE AND-) Ahem...pay no mind to her, hehe..But seriously though, I actually wrote this prologue a long time ago, maybe like a year ago, and I've only now started to write the rest of it. So if dead characters suddenly show up, bare with me. The plot of this story was already made a long time ago, I'm just continuing it. ANDDDDD...Obviously, I made up that Second Sannin ceremony but bare with me, it's all part of the story.

Disclaimer: Yeah, I own Naruto. I also own a unicorn named Emocorn who has spaghetti eyes. It's his special bloodline called the Spaghettigyan. It rivals the Sharingan/Byankugan. And for the stupid people, I was being sarcastic...duh...OMG HOW COOL WOULD A SPAGHETTIGYAN LOOK? No, seriously, picture it in your mind...Spaghetti eyes! And meatball pupils! That would be so cool! XP And this chap is short, but it's only the prologue.

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><p>Prologue<p>

****Hearing the words 'Haruno Sakura' can spring up many words coming to thought. Pink hair, Godaime's apprentice, Team Seven teammate, medic-nin, intelligent, strong, forehead, beautiful, hotheaded...but one little trait some people failed to mention was 'unlucky'. Yes, bad luck seem to follow Sakura like a shadow that appears even during the night. It's a vicious cycle, really. Looking at Sakura, you'd think she had it all. The three B's, as her best friend calls it: the beauty, the brains and the bronze. Well, unfortunately, with the sweets comes the sour. And the sour was almost enough to outweight the sweets. Almost.

You see, her streak of bad luck wasn't acknowledged that much. First, it obviously started with her pink hair. Others would see the hair as a gift, but not Sakura. It made people stare at her, it limited her wardrobe choices, and it was a hassle since it was easily recognizeable and memorable to others, namely enemy nins, which brings us to the second streak of bad luck. No one ever wondered about Sakura's family, and there's a reason. As a young woman bearing a child, Sakumi Haruno was somewhat poor. Their house wasn't anything much to look at, and she worked nonstop for that plain old house alone. Her fondest wish was for her daughter, whom Sakumi was sure would grow up to be a beautiful woman, to marry her way into wealth. Sakumi wished to teach her daughter how to cook, clean, talk and walk like a proper young lady. And you can imagine Sakumi's surprise when she found out her daughter enrolled herself into a ninja academy. Sakumi was against it. No matter what, her daughter's wishes and dreams came first, and Sakura loved her mother for that, but she simply can't ignore the look in her eyes. The way Sakumi would suddenly silence herself when her friends are talking about their wonderful, non-ninja daughters. Not many people even knew that Sakumi was related to her. Then again, the ninjas weren't well-known with the proper women Sakumi associated with. The way Sakumi looked at other young women Sakura's age with a look that could only describe her thoughts as, 'Why couldn't my daughter be like that?'. The coldness Sakumi had often shown Sakura when no one was around. The look of resentment...But it didn't stop there.

Sakumi could handle her daughter's ninja status for the simple reason that she knew Sakura loved the Uchiha boy, and Sakumi had always wished for her to be an Uchiha, or perhaps a Hyuuga, but those chances were awfully slim. But when the Jinchuuriki boy was added into her team...And Sakura liked him, heck, even defended the boy, Sakumi showed bitter coldness to Sakura. No, she never flat out insulted her or hit her or anything of the sort, but her eyes said it all: 'You should have been different, Sakura.'

And that leads us to bad streak number three: Team Seven. Well, Sakura herself didn't consider it bad luck. But being a Jinchuuriki and the 'Uchiha Traitor's best friend (not that Sasuke would ever admit it, though) caused her to be the center of gossip. Rumors of her dating Naruto (although those who knew them knew that their frienship was strictly platonic) and her dating Sasuke were getting out of hand. But oh, how Sakura wished the rumours between her and Sasuke were true. But she ignored her feelings, pushed them down and kept denying them. It's been a year since he came back, and their friendship was closer than ever and Sakura was sure as hell not going to mess that up.

Hmm, add pink hair, an unproud mother and a Jinchuuriki/ex-missining nin for teammates, plus being hoplessly devoted to one of them, and it all made the perfect recipe for bad reputation. Go figure...

And right now, Sakura's bad luck was about to strike again. You see, Sakura Haruno was now looking to, what's that awful word? Oh, yes, date. Her best friends, Ino Yamanaka, Hinata Hyuuga and Tenten all had official boyfriends now. Heck, even Temari had her own boyfriend. And truthfully, Sakura's sick of being the only kunoichi to not have her first kiss yet (seriously, eighteen years old and never been kissed, that was just pathetic) and after some girl talks and a Pros and Cons list with her inner self, Sakura's decided it's time. Why not? She was at that lovingly perfect age when she was not too young nor too old, and since the entire orginazation of Akatsuki was wiped out a year ago and there was no risk at war, Tsunade told her she predicted nothing but B-rank missions even for the ANBU ninjas.

In short, it was the perfect time. But she should have known better. This time, her bad luck's about to hit the jackpot. But who knows? This might be bad luck...or the cards might turn on her and turn her bad luck streak into good luck...

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><p>"EH? YOU'RE GONNA START WHAT?" cried a certain blonde loudmouth. No, it's not Ino. At the moment, four people were at Ichiraku's. All summoned by their only female teammate, with big news on her hands. After she announced it, she found that their reactions were exactly what she had expected.<p>

Naruto yelled. Kakashi's eyes widened. And Sasuke had stopped eating, and raised his eyebrow questioningly. Heck, she could have sworn she heard something crack.

"Baka, don't yell it to the whole village!" Sakura scolded, wacking Naruto's head slightly. She couldn't hide her cheeks, which were growing the same color as her hair every second. Dating was an...odd subject for a ninja to discuss with teammates. Sakura had trouble talking about it to her girlfriends, so talking about it to her MALE, PROTECTIVE teammates was even worst. She found herself flustered and as she went back to her seat after walking Naruto, she played with the hem of her medic skirt, a nervous trait she picked up from Hinata.

"But...yeah, I'm gonna start dating." she confirmed, in a much, much lower voice than Naruto's. She was now officially avoiding her teammates' eyes, and looking at her skirt, barely eating anymore. Why was it so surprising that the used-to-be flirty, fairytale-believing, loving Sakura Haruno announced she was dating? Because that flirty, fairytale-believing and loving Sakura Haruno was twelve when she was like that. She hasn't changed much anymore, but she never accepted dates. She specifically said she wasn't going to date and focus on her career as an ANBU medic-nin.

"B-B-But...why?" Naruto stuttered. Okay, first off, he wasn't jealous, as some who didn't know him might have thought. After all, he's perfectly happy with Hinata. But that didn't stop the fact that Sakura was like his sister, and Naruto was a guy. Meaning he knew that half of the time, there's only one reason guys date girls like Sakura...Which is...

Oh, God.

"You do realize there are plenty of perverts, especially in this village, right? I mean, OUR OWN SENSEI'S A PERV! There's also Kiba, Ero-Sennin, almost EVERY ONE of the male civilians, Neji's a hidden perv, don't say he isn't, I've been to the Hyuuga compound and Hinata has shown me some _things_in his room, and-"

"And you." Sasuke added bleakly.

"What? I'm not a pervert!" Naruto protested.

"Oh, really? Then what was that picture of Hinata in a bik-" Kakashi started, but Naruto interrupted him, "THAT'S DIFFERENT! THAT WAS A GIFT FRO-"

And Sakura whacked him again, "I'm well aware of the fact that Konoha is made out of perverts!" she said, fuming, but she took a deep breath, and sighed, "But there are some good guys out there. And I'm the only kunoichi who's not dating."

"You are not dating anyone, Missy!" Kakashi ordered, pointing an accusing finger towards her. Sakura pushed the finger away, annoyed, "I'm not a child! I'm gonna start dating whether you guys like it or not!"

"Wasn't it just a year ago you claimed you weren't dating and swore to focus on your duties?" Kakashi asked.

"Well, yes, but there are less missions to go to, and even lesser people in the hospital. Konoha has been at peace for a long time now, and there's been no deaths or fatal injuries...I was just thinking if there was ever a time to start dating, it's now." Sakura said. Kakashi and Naruto kept their mouths shut. They wanted Sakura to be happy...they just didn't expect that they would be dealing with the boy-threatening so soon. "We all know I'm a ninja, and ninjas tended to marry young, and how can I marry someone if I'm not dating? Besides, there are plenty of good guys out here, all I have to do is look for the-"

"You can't date." Sasuke said abruptly. All three heads turned to him in shock. It occured to them that Sasuke hadn't said a word about her news yet. And now they knew why. They looked at him, his eyes were close and his hands, previously gripped so tightly on his cup that it cracked and was now shattered into pieces. 'So that was the crack I heard earlier...' Sakura thought. What she didn't know is that the reason the Uchiha didn't talk was because he was gathering his thoughts together, choosing his words carefully.

Or, he chose his words carefully. But then entirely different words spewed out of his mouth. He was shocked at his outburst, but didn't show it.

_'Sasuke-kun...'_ Sakura thought, then mentally shook her head, _'No, he's just concerned about me. As a friend. That's all.'_

"Why wouldn't I?" Sakura asked in a soft voice. She mentally scolded herself for her softness.

"Yeah, teme, why _wouldn't_she?" Naruto snickered. Kakashi awaited his answer, both of them did. Did this mean after all this time, the Uchiha's no longer in denial?

"You're a kunoichi. And though Konoha may be at peace now, it might not be for long. Dating would become an obstacle and since we're going to be named the Second Sannin officially soon, we can't have you slacking off just to date." Sasuke used as an excuse. Well, yes, in exactly one month, an official ceremony would be held to announce Team Seven's official Second Sannin status, nug he knew deep down, he said she couldn't date because he didn't want her to, but there was no way in hell he was going to say that.

_'Of course...'_Sakura thought with disappointment. What did she expect? "But then there will never be time to date. Don't you get it? If I keep making up excuses not to date, I might as well end up alone! Besides, all the other kunoichi are doing it, so why can't I?"

"If the the other kunoichi jumped down a bridge, would you do it too?" Kakashi reasoned like an overprotective father. Sakura rolled her eyes, "Sensei, please...If the other kunoichi would jump off a bridge, it'll be because I had the idea first. I'm a leader, Kakashi, not a follower!" Sakura said smugly, Kakashi and Naruto sweatdropped at that. "But seriously, though, I have been considering dating, and so have the other kunoichi, we just never found the right time. But now is the right time." Sakura reasoned.

Naruto and Kakashi sighed. They weren't going to change Sakura's stubborn mind. Not now, probably not ever. Still..._Their_Sakura Haruno...dating. It was a clear sign she was growing up. They all were. And they all seemed too comfortable with their state now to change anything. Sakura noticed this, and sighed, putting an arm around her 'boys'.

"Don't worry, guys, if anyone breaks my heart, you can...Rasengan/Chidori their asses all you want." she smiled cheerfully. A smile tugged at their faces, a small smirk on Sasuke's. They couldn't help it. That smile was contagious.

"Okay, Sakura-chan, if that's what you really want!" Naruto chirped.

Sakura smiled. She knew when in doubt, Naruto's the first one who would have her back. "Arigatou, Naruto." Sakura said as she gave him a friendly hug.

Kakashi sighed, "...I guess I can live with you dating a guy or two..." Kakashi muttered. Sakura's face beamed, "But don't think I won't check the Hokage's office for his records, either. And he has to be the very best of the best, I won't have you settle for less. So if you're thinking about going out with someone like Rock Lee..." he began.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura cringed. Lee was a very good friend, but dating him was like a crime against nature.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Sakura? You've all surpassed me, there's no use in calling me sensei." Kakashi reminded her with a smile.

"Yeah, but to us, you'll always be old man Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto laughed, putting an arm around his sensei jokingly. But when he caught Kakashi's murderous glare, he sweatdropped and slowly let go. Sakura giggled at their antics. Slurping her last ramen, she stood up with a smile on her face, "Well, I've got to go. Ino-pig said she wanted to see me tonight. I imagine it's for 'dating tips' or something..." Sakura said with a shudder. She recalled when Ino took Tenten under her wing for the whole dating thing. Tenten's personality was close to Sakura's, so when Tenten came out all horrified and tired, Sakura dreaded the day it would be her turn for Ino's 'lessons'. "I'll see you guys later!" she said with a wave.

"Bye, Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled as Kakashi waved goodbye to her. Sakura smiled before turning her back and left. But as she took only a few steps away from Ichiraku's, Sasuke reached out and grabbed her wrist.

With a slight gasp, Sakura turned her head to see Sasuke, his hand holding her wrist gently, yet his grip tightened, as if he didn't plan on letting her go. Kakashi and Naruto caught this little act and their own mouths dropped, not that you could see Kakashi's anyway. Sasuke wasn't even facing her, instead his eyes were on his own bowl of ramen, as if he didn't want to meet her gaze.

"Sasuke-kun...?" Sakura asked. He still refused to look at her. Naruto and Kakashi caught their breaths, could this be it? Would Sasuke Uchih confess he's been in denial all this time and loves Sakura Haruno? Were they witnessing the very moment they would tell the Uchiha kids how their parents got together?

Granted, confessing an undying love for someone at Ichiraku's was a bit unromantic...'Then again, Naruto had his first date with Hinata there.' Kakashi mentally sweatdropped as he and Naruto awaited for Sasuke's answer.

"If you're going to date someone, date someone smart, respectable, and strong enough to protect you..." Sasuke said. To others, it may have sounded like an order. But there was a slight softness in Sasuke's voice not many would have noticed, but they did. He didn't order her, he ASKED her to promise him that...Sakura held her breath. He sounded so serious, yet caring. Only Sasuke could provide such an odd combination. But then he gave a...well, she couldn't call it a smile, but he gave a fraction of a smile. So she smiled back and nodded. "In short, don't date someone like Naruto."

"Yeah, and-HEY!" Naruto yelled in offense. As soon as Sakura nodded happily, Sasuke let her wrist go as she waved goodbye before running off.

"Well, to be fair, he is right." Kakashi joked, but this only made the fox boy's rant worst. As he began to drone out the sounds of his teammate's rant (an act that he had mastered over the years which he also found as useful as the Chidori itself), Sasuke realized that his hand was still in the air from where he held Sakura's wrist. He was beyond thankful Naruto was ranting and Kakashi was too amused by it to notice, or else he would have never heard the end of it.

For the past couple of months, they've been insisting he's been showing subtle signs of liking Sakura as more than a friend. Sasuke being...well, Sasuke, denied it of course. But they reminded him of their theories everytime, even during their spars: the way he looked at her when he thought no one was looking, the way he seemed protective of her even at the simplest missions, the gentler voice he spoke in when he was talking to her. They even went as far as saying Sasuke has these little habits when he was around Sakura, though they wouldn't tell him what it was.

Ridiculous. He was an Uchiha. If he had such a 'habit', he would have noticed. As for his actions towards the kunoichi, he did it simply as a small gesture of apology, for the way he treated her in the past. When he stood there, lying on the ground on his deathbed and the kunoichi used up all her chakra when she herself was so wounded, causing her to faint, just to heal and save him, he had apologized to her. But she was unconcious. So he did whatever he can to show her his gratitude. That's all it was. He was simply reminding her he was grateful for her.

But that being said, if he's so damn grateful, then why did the idea of Sakura dating, an act which could have made her happy, anger him so much?


	2. Chapter 2: Meeting Ranmaru

_**We Could Have Had It All**_

**AN:...Damn, I didn't expect that much reviews. o.O A reviewer said the story wasn't original and the plot has been overused. Okay, I expected this. I admit, I have seen the plot so many times (not in the Naruto world though, I was actually inspired by a Bakugan fic, but that's not the point...), but...I don't know, I always felt like there was something missing. I'm not saying I would be able to find that something missing, but I was willing to give it a shot. **

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><p>Sasuke Uchiha didn't do emotions. It wasn't a rumor or an opinion, it's a fact. Known by all of Konoha, and all the Hidden Villages. Uchihas never did seem anything less than cold and emotioness. Only Uchiha women showed emotion, even if it was only outside of missions. But that's okay, Sasuke knew to the rest of the world, he looked cold, cruel and emotionless, and he didn't exactly do much to change that. He was perfectly fine for the way he was.<p>

But although he seemed emotionless, he didn't like it when people assumed he had no feelings. He felt hurt, anger, fraustration just like any other human being. Was it so wrong he didn't like to show emotions? It wasn't only because his father told him emotions made you weak, it was just that Sasuke felt flat-out uncomfortable showing them. That is, he wasn't completely emotionless.

It did hurt when Sasuke knew that villagers still questioned his loyalty. Kami, he had known he'd done wrong, but how long was it going to take for the villagers to forgive him? 'Probably never,' thought Sasuke, 'And I can't say I blame them...'

It fraustrated him when he felt weak. When he's seen how jaw-droppingly strong his teammates became without leaving Konoha, it made him regret going to Orochimaru even more than before. They all got so strong, especially Sakura, who used to be the weak link. He'll be damned if he admitted this, but Sakura always impressed him more so than anyone ever could. After all...She wasn't from a prestigeous clan, no bloodline, no unique abilities and she didn't have a Curse Seal like Sasuke, or unlimited chakra from a tailed beast like Naruto. She was also the very first ninja of her entire family, whom Sasuke has heard, was made up of shopkeeps, dressmakers and other somewhat poor jobs. She was just Sakura, a girl so normal, she might as well have been an ordinary civilian. But she wasn't...she was the first kunoichi to outrank all of the Konoha 12 and make it pass the ANBU exams. Needless to say, Sasuke couldn't exactly say she was weak anymore.

But speaking of the girl, he felt anger when she announced she was dating. Don't ask him why, he wasn't completely sure yet. Though Naruto had his theories...And told him over, and over and over again.

"You're just mad because this shows Sakura-chan's finally moved ooooon!" he teased, poking Sasuke's shoulder. A vein was popping out of his forehead, and Sasuke had an annoyed expression he hadn't used in years.

"Hn." Sasuke gave his infamous reply. To others, not responding to teasing would make the teaser give up and start torturing someone else. To Naruto, just the fact that he replied motivated him into talking more.

"Aha!" Naruto said, pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke, "You are jealous! You like her, admit it!"

"No, I don't." Sasuke said. So casually, Naruto was beginning to doubt his instincts.

He should have stopped right there. Then Naruto remembered men had one weakness in common with other men, and gave an unholy grin. "You know, if you _do_ like her, I can't say I blame you...I mean, let's face it, Sakura-chan sure has..._matured_, ne?"

Sasuke froze. He was not about to go there, was he?

"Just look at her! That baggy ninja uniform couldn't hide anything if it tried! Imagine if she, oh, I dunno, wore _tighter_ clothing?" Naruto grinned even more.

What he said was true. Not only was she the strongest, but she was also known as the prettiest...and, as some would say, the _hottest_. Sasuke didn't believe in disrespecting women like that, but there was that one time...when Sakura accidentally fell into water...and all her clothes were clinging in certain areas that highlighted her, um...'growth'.

"Not only that, but she's sooooo pretty, right? I mean, most girls have to take ten minutes to put on their make-up and all to look even remotely pretty! Sakura-chan's never touched make-up in her life! Did you know that yesterday she used an eyelash curler as a kunai? Even without make-up, she's prettier than the girls trying to be pretty! I mean, she's almost as pretty as Hinata-chan!" Naruto beamed.

True again. Sakura was one of those 'rare, natural beauty' types. Sasuke never knew why Sakura hated her forehead. Okay, it was wide, but it didn't make her look ugly. In fact, it actually went well with the rest of the features on her face. Everyone was sure she wasn't aware of it, but she was beautiful. Especially when the sun shined down on her. When the sunlight touched her, her skin glowed, her eyes sparkled, her smile brightened and her hair suddenly looked like a halo.

Sasuke's eyes almost widened at these thoughts. Almost. Instead of blushing like a normal guy would, his nose twitched and he found himself lightly brushing off his collarbone, as if there were a bug on it. And again, Naruto found the reaction he was looking for.

"Aha! You did it again!" Naruto rejoiced, pointing directly at Sasuke's face.

Sasuke glared and pushed Naruto's finger away from his race, "Did what, dobe?" he asked monetonely. It didn't even sound like a question.

"I'm not gonna tell you! It's that thing you do when we mention Sakura! It's that thing you do instead of blushing!" Naruto smirked, "I don't care if you won't admit it, I'm sure now, you're in love with Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled.

"No, I'm not." he said blandly. Sasuke thought she was smart, strong and...beautiful but that didn't mean he was 'in love' with her, as Naruto said.

Naruto banged his head against the table. He may be his best friend, but Sasuke Uchiha was so stubborn! "Whatever, you're in denial! But guess what? You won't be soon." Naruto told him.

Sasuke was getting tired of this, "Aren't you supposed to meet Hinata for lunch?" he asked.

"Oh, you're right!" Naruto exclaimed, and as he began to leave, Sasuke sighed in relief. But as Naruto ran, he yelled: "You just better make a move soon, Teme! Sakura-chan's not going to wait forever, especially now that she's gonna start dating!"

Sasuke watched as his best friend ran and turned into an obnoxious orange blur with a sigh. If there was anything Team Seven had in common, besides their 'Second Sannin' statuses, it was their stubborn attitudes, Sasuke thought, amused by it. Granted, Naruto's stubborness was more annoying, Sakura's was more violent scary and Sasuke's was more of a discrete kind of scary...like 'I'll kill you during your sleep' scary.

Still, Naruto's words rang in his head. 'Sakura-chan's not going to wait forever...!'

Why was he kidding himself? Of course, he cared. But he cared in a different way Naruto and Kakashi did. If Sakura were to date, Naruto and Kakashi would want her to be with someone who would be good for her, and as long as she had that, they would be happy. But for Sasuke...it didn't matter who the guy was. Deep down, whoever would date her could never be good enough for her. And sure, the time would come when his Team Seven family would grow up and gain families of their own. Kakashi will surely settle down...maybe. Naruto will surely marry that Hyuuga girl and have plenty of...loudmouth/shy kids (Kami knows what kind of an unholy combination that is). Sakura will find a man that would take care of her and have freakishly strong children. And that would be the end to Sasuke's 'family' as he knew it.

Surely, that's the reason he cares so much about Sakura dating, right?

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><p><em>Konoha Hospital<em>

Just as expected, Ino's 'crash course' was a complete and total nightmare. How bad was it? Well, here are just a few of the lessons: 'Which shade of lipstick is exactly right for you', 'Skirts: Too Mini says you're a slut, Too Long says you're a nun', 'Hats to disguise forehead' (in which, you can imagine, Sakura was deeply offended at), 'Subtle Seduction', 'Dirty Dancing Level One: The Booty Pop' and last, but certainly not least Sakura's personal 'favorite', 'Panties: how to know when you have to wear sexy underwear or not'. And those are just the most 'innocent ones' of the lessons. Sakura left the Yamanaka home, deeply disturbed, and wondering if Inoichi Yamanaka knew about his daughter's...lessons. Needless to say, when Tenten and Hinata told Sakura just how bad it was, they were being nice. In fact, Sakura had thoughts about using Ino's methods as a torture device for interrogators.  
>'Hmm...not bad.' Now that she thought of the idea...<p>

A giggle escape Sakura's lips. As she worked at the hospital, handling blood bags and putting them in order by their types, her mind wandered, and she could imagine how sweet, naive, innocent little Hinata left the Yamanaka home blushing so bad, you'd think she actually had a blood mask or something. And how Tenten must have felt overwhelmed and flustered. Right now, Sakura felt neither. She felt more traumatized if anything. She was well aware her friend was, um, ADVENTUROUS but...If Ino knows these things, it means she's tried them with Shikamaru...and it worked.

"...Ew!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed out loud. 'Shikamaru's a hidden perv! I thought Neji was the only hidden pervert! Oh, Kami, how am I supposed to face them on missions _now_ knowing they like _those_ type of things?'

"Sakura! I didn't know you, of all people, would be grossed out by a couple of blood bags!" Tenten chirped behind Sakura.

"Tenten, come on, me afraid of blood? Please... I wasn't grossed out by the blood bags...I was thinking of something else entirely." Sakura said, shuddering at the thought. Does Tenten know her boyfriend was apparently a hidden perv?

"Really? Could it be about your new 'experiment'?" Tenten winked at her. Sakura's eyes widened. Before Sakura could ask how she knew, Tenten answered, "Please, Sakura, you're best friends with the two blonde loudmouths of Konoha. Naturally, one of them was bound to slip up sooner or later. By the way, I see you survived Ino's 'crash course'..."

Sakura blushed as she put the blood bags down and wiped her hands, "Yeah, though I don't know how Hinata did..."

"With intense psychotherapy, I imagine." Tenten grinned, "So, since you're going guy-hunting, anyone in mind?"

When the words 'guy hunting' comes to mind, only one person pops up her mind...But Sakura mentally shook her head, as if she was shaking that image away. 'You're friends now...' she thought, 'Don't screw this up!'

"Um, no one in paticular..." Sakura said nonchalantly, "I guess this guy-hunting thing is gonna be harder than I thought."

"Doesn't have to be!" Tenten said, "Look, despite what you think, a lot of guys think you're beautiful, Sakura. You know, just...try to leave the 'crazy super strength' out on the first date. That might scare some guys."

"If you say so, Ten-chan." Sakura said. Plenty of people have called her beautiful before. But she just didn't believe it. No, she wasn't the type of girl who pretended to be modest to get more compliments. She knew she wasn't ugly. She thought herself as pretty, but not as beautiful as people made her out to be. "I might need help actually finding a guy, though."

"That can be arranged!" Tenten said, "I hear Tsunade-sama's giving your team a very important mission."

"What? But she said there wouldn't be any dangerous missions for at least another year or so!" Sakura began to protest. She finally finds time to date and now this bomb gets dropped on her head.

"I said it was important, not dangerous." Tenten added, "Anyway, it's just a rumor, but apparently, you're escorting someone to Tsukigakure!" Tenten said, in a very squeamish voice.

Sakura raised her eyebrow. The only kunoichi who still squeals was Ino. "Why? What about Tsuki?"

"Don't you know? Tsuki's the 'Hidden Moon Village'. It's so beautiful there. In fact, practically everyone and everything there is beautiful." Tenten said, with a slight gleam in her eyes.

"You already went?" Sakura asked.

"Well, my team had to stop there for one night on our way home. Neji was a bit of a sourpuss about it, but even he grew to love it. You know they nicknamed Tsukigakure the 'Love Village'? The name fits well, you can't step in that village without falling in love. The whole place is aphrodisiac."

"Then I guess I'm lucky." Sakura said. Since it was just a rumor, she was trying not to get her hopes up about going there. Still...she couldn't contain the rush of excitement and found herself smiling, "Wait...'Love Village'...Is that where Neji asked you out?"

Tenten blushed, "Yeah..."

"Wow!" Sakura couldn't contain her amazement. Everyone was surprised to hear Neji asked Tenten out. Tsuki had to be the ultimate romantic hotspot for Neji Hyuuga to be romantic and ask Tenten out.

"Anyway, this isn't about me, but about you. In fact, if I were you, I'd go ask Tsunade-sama about this. And if you don't have the mission, beg for it. Seriously, going to Tsuki is a once-in-lifetime-chance." Tenten said.

"You're right! Actually, I should be meeting her now anyways, so, I guess I'll see you later." Sakura smiled as she waved goodbye.

"Good luck! And if you do get the mission, try not to fall in love!" Tenten called out to her jokingly.

Sakura laughed as Tenten grew smaller from her view. She turned her head in front, with the a smile still on her face, but shaking her head, 'A place that's that romantic can't possibly exist. Still...it's a nice thought.' she smiled to herself, then it quickly changed into a frown, 'Jeez, when did I become so cynical?'

Her frown grew even wider. Stupid question. Stupid answer. Stupid everything.

* * *

><p><em>Training Grounds...<em>

"Oi, teme! Teme! Teme, teme, teme!" the infamous loudmouth voice of Naruto Uzumaki rang across the forest, which really wasn't a good idea. Any ninja knows that they must be silent whenever possible. Obviously, Naruto didn't care much for rules or tradition...

Sasuke tried to ignore his loud voice as he threw his shuriken against the red mark on a faraway tree, probably pretending the tree was Naruto, too. He had been training for a while now. Actually, ever since his talk with the dobe about 'feelings'. He needed something to get his mind off of it, and training was the answer to it. But for all his efforts into training for six hours straight, Naruto's voice instantly reminded him of his earlier words.

'You just better make a move soon, Teme! Sakura-chan's not going to wait forever...!'

Sasuke stopped for a moment. For once, Naruto was right. Of course Sakura wouldn't wait forever. But how on earth could this bother him? Wasn't his what he wished for? For the pink-haired kunoichi to get off his back once and for all? But then again...Was she over him a long time ago? Ever since he came back, she's been _tolerable_, to say the least. And she hasn't shown any signs that she still had feelings for him.

'But she didn't show any signs that she didn't, either...' Sasuke thought. At the realization of what he was thinking, he mentally cursed Naruto. The confusion wouldn't have happened if he had kept his mouth shut.

"HEY, TEME!" Speak of the devil himself. "Why didn't you answer me?"

"If you know what's good for you..." Sasuke glared, "You'll stay out of my way."

"Ooh, someone's got a bigger stick up his ass than usual!" Naruto exclaimed. Sasuke gave him an 'Are you really still here?' look. Then Naruto grinned, "OH...is it because of Sakura-chan again? Sasuke, you dog, I didn't know you were so-HEY!"

Sasuke smirked as he threw several shuriken at Naruto, which he, unfortunately, dodged in time. "TEME! You almost killed me!"

"That was the point, dobe." Sasuke deadpanned.

"You don't wanna do that! I mean, how are you gonna get Sakura to like you if she finds out you tried to kill her best fri-EY! ENOUGH WITH THE ATTEMPTED MURDERS!" Naruto yelled as another batch of shurikens were thrown at his direction, "Well, I better get to the point before you try to _kill_ me again."

Sasuke rolled his eyes, but Naruto continued. "Anyway...Baa-chan's calling us. She said to go to her office right now. Said something about an important mission. Hey! If we get an important mission, it means we won't get an easy-mission year! This means Sakura won't date, and you still have a chance with h-ENOUGH WITH THE SHURIKENS ALREADY!"

Sasuke felt a twinge of excitement (though you wouldn't know it, looking at his face) when he heard that they were having an important mission. So much so, that he left Naruto in the training grounds dodging whatever weapon was being thrown at him, and headed immediately for the Hokage's office. He was excited for three reasons. One, this would be his first 'big mission' since his return to Konoha. If, no, WHEN he'll finish this mission, the doubting civilians of Konoha will finally see that Sasuke has no intentions of betraying the village again. Two, he thinks he might be addicted to being a ninja, because he often found himself craving danger and action, especially. That's what a year of merely D to C rank missions will do to you. And three...Okay, so he was a little relieved he didn't have to deal with Sakura dating. Surely, the kunoichi has more common sense than to date a time like this...right?

He shook that idea from his thoughts. 'Who cares about when or who she dates?' he grumbled to himself in annoyance. How annoying. Even when she wasn't around, she found ways to annoy him. Then again, it wouldn't be fair to blame her, since she didn't exactly do anything wrong. Maybe he would talk to her later, try to talk her out of dating.

...Because he was concerned for her well-being, _as a friend_. Yeah. Sasuke cannot deny anymore that they were friends, even though out loud he might never say it, and nothing more.

* * *

><p><em>Tsunade's Office<em>

Tsunade did not doubt her ninjas. Nope. Despite being called the 'Legendary Sucker', Tsunade had an excellent judge of character. Call it women's intuition or kunoichi instinct, but whenever Tsunade would meet someone, an impression would immediately sertle in her mind. The first impression, despite popular belief, often seem to be the lasting impression for her. And it was. If she thought of you as weak, you were weak. If she thought of you as strong, you were strong. And Tsunade was never wrong about her impressions. But then she found three little exceptions to that rule.

Uzumaki Naruto. Haruno Sakura. Uchiha Sasuke.

What made these three so different from the rest? They were completely disfunctional as a team. Despite being called the 'Second Generation Legendary Sannin', they all had actions that made you want to sweatdrop. They were all so different from each other. Her first impressions of them al?

Uzumaki Naruto-idiot, fool, unrealistic, daydreamer.

Haruno Sakura-naive, crybaby, intelligent but not wise, weak.

Uchiha Sasuke-traitor, evil, beyond redemption and incapable of feeling anything but hate.

And she was so sure she had them all figured out from square one. She was so sure that the team was the kind that would stay Chunin and live their lives as a normal, backbone-less ninja that would be forgotten. Boy, did they prove them wrong. Naruto was he first to prove her wrong. When did she realize she had it wrong? When he had convinced her to become Hokage. No one could change Tsunade's mind. No one. So how did a mere 13 year old manage to make her doubt herself as a ninja, as a kunoichi, as a person? Was it his charm? Charisma? Optimist attitude? Whatever it was, he had managed to make Tsunade doubt her choices. Not many people could say the same.

Uchiha Sasuke could. When Tsunade saw that he willingly came home with Naruto and her protoge, unconcious, in his arms (who apparently used the technique Tsunade warned her not to use to save Naruto and the Uchiha...damn that stubborn child), she still had doubts. After all, who wouldn't? He had, after all, tried to kill her pupil on several occasions, and Naruto aswell. Why should she trust him?

Unfortunately, no one could protest letting Sasuke stay when, after all, he did save Konoha by helping Naruto and Sakura kill Madara Uchiha. He also saved Sakura himself. And he came back, despite what Konoha did to him. Tsunade liked to think it had something to do with what happened between him, Naruto and Sakura. Something amazing and outstanding. Both Naruto and Sakura had this effect on people, and together, they might have done something so incredible that it made the Uchiha come back, though none of them would say what.

...Okay, she was a wee bit harsher than intended. Giving him a year of D to C rank missions instead of six months. Getting at least one ANBU member to look after him for a year. But not once did the Uchiha complained. Albeit, Tsunade always felt Sasuke would slip up and reveal something. That he was still secretly working against Konoha. Even Tsunade began to observe him carefully.

During his first week, he avoided everything and everyone. Interestingly enough, except for his teammates, who were with him the whole week. According to Sakura, they were willing to do whatever and wait as long as it takes for Sasuke to feel comfortable again. So for the first month, they all stayed at the Uchiha compound. The first true sign of Tsunade's amazement was when she planned a 'surprise visit' and decided to see how they were doing, to make sure Sasuke wasn't actually holding them hostage or something. Quite the opposite, actually.

When she came at midnight, no one was home. Frantically, she began to look everywhere for them. So close to actually sending a squad out and convinced Sasuke had kidnapped them, she finally caught them.

_One year ago..._

She caught them alright. But in a way you wouldn't expect to find a loudmouth, a violent pinkhead and an ex-missing nin.

They were on top of the Hokage Mountain...camping.

Yes, you heard right. Camping.

Tsunade sweatdropped. She had looked through all of Konoha, worrying her ass off and for what? Because three of her best ninjas wanted to roast marshmallows and sing firecamp songs? How embarassing.

But still, she couldn't help but observe. Curiousity killed the cat after all. But Tsunade didn't expect to see the three act so...casual. For one, three small tents surrounded them. Two long, giant, sturdy logs (thank Kami Tsunade didn't find out her apprentice ripped those logs off with her bare hands...) were placed in a V-form in front of a small, modest fire. Naruto sat on the edge of one of them, and Sasuke and Sakura, suspiciously close, sat in another log but still close to Naruto.

"No fair, teme, how come YOU get to sit next to Sakura-chan!" Naruto whined. Tsunade rolled her eyes in amusement. Though Naruto's crush had long faded, he still wanted to be close to Sakura.

"Naruto, you were the one who wanted to sit on that log because you said this one was too small." Sakura reminded him. Beside her, Sasuke smirked, "He's right. Anyways, if the dobe sat here, I imagine the log would break due to his weight."

Tsunade's eyes widened. Though he said it in a monetone, deadpanned way... did Sasuke Uchiha just made a joke?

Beside him, Sakura laughed, and Sasuke maintained his smirk. "HEY! ARE YOU SAYING I'M FAT?" Naruto yelled, "You better watch it, teme, or I'll throw you into the fire! I swear, I'll do it!"

"Naruto, shh! People might hear us!" Sakura shushed him.

"Sakura-chaaaan! You're always taking his side!" Naruto whined. Tsunade chuckled. She'd be lying if she said she didn't feel all touchy and all during the scene unfolding in front of her. Naruto whining, Sakura scolding and Sasuke smirking...there was a certain ambiance in the air. As if nothing bad had happened before. She was honestly amazed. And the Uchiha...since when did he show any other emotion but hate or anger? Since when did he speak so much? His eyes...he looked at Naruto in amusement, and Sakura in a way Tsunade could only describe as...fondness. She was discovering a whole new Sasuke, one that actually had potential to be redeemed.

Later, it got darker, and the fire died down. It's been an hour and Tsunade was still spying. She didn't notice the time fly by at all. She was honestly astounded by Team Seven. Never had she thought a team so broken beyond repair could be so...loving, caring for each other even after everything that's happened.

Tsunade almost yawned. Naruto had fell asleep on the log in the most obnoxious way. His arms and legs sticking out and snoring. But Sakura and Sasuke were now sitting on the ground, almost lying on the ground if it weren't for the logs they sat on before. Their backs were now leaning on the logs, so comfortable and without a care in the world. Tsunade paid extra close attention to what would happen next.

"This was a great idea, Sasuke. I'm glad you thought of it." Sakura smiled sweetly at him. 'Huh...getting a little too close there, huh, Sakura?' Tsunade thought. Sakura and Sasuke's shoulders were touching, and strangely enough, none of them seemed the least bit uncomfortable.

"Aa..." Sasuke answered. But it wasn't the typical nonchalant 'Aa' Tsunade had heard so often. He seemed to genuinely agree with her, and genuinely glad he thought of it. 'Wait a second...Uchiha thought of camping?' Tsunade thought once again.

"Doesn't it remind you of our Genin days? That time when we slept under the stars?" Sakura asked. She had never seen so much stars in her life, which was honestly such a shame since she loved the night sky. As she looked up, a fond smile crept up her lips, "It's funny...even the stars look the same."

Tsunade looked up the stars, deep in thought. That day must have been precious to Sakura for her to memorize such a thing. She looked back to the two, and saw Sasuke look up as well. "Aa...the kunai-shaped ones are still there."

For a second, Sakura was surprised, "You remembered..."

"I said I did, didn't I?" Sasuke said. Tsunade found it odd. Sasuke seemed to say it in an annoyed fashion, but Sakura's smile grew. And soon, Sasuke developped a smirk of his own.

A moment of silence passed as the two looked up the stars in silence. Tsunade had to admit, the stars from the Hokage Mountain's point of view were amazing. There were so many of them. Filled with different ones, some were blurry, some were bright, some big, some small...all scattered around. A smile spread across her lips as she found the clutter of stars that formed a kunai, like Sasuke had said.

"Sasuke?" her apprentice's surprisingly tiny voice popped up, "I have to ask you something."

Tsunade saw the Uchiha fidget. "If you knew...that you could have become stronger by staying here...that we could have defeated the Akatsuki together...and that we'd be having nights like these, would you have stayed?" she finally asked.

Tsunade saw Sasuke inhale deeply as his eyes closed. She was afraid the Uchiha's answer would upset Sakura (which if it did, she would have came out and kicked his ass). Sakura couldn't look at him, but looked at the ground, afraid to meet his gaze. Or more afraid of his answer.

The air seemed to grow thicker as they awaited his response. But Tsunade will never forget what she saw. As the pink haired kunoichi stared at the ground, visibly upset due to her mistaking Sasuke's silence for 'no', Sasuke Uchiha opened his eyes and turned his head towards her. She didn't even know he stared at her for a good five seconds. She didn't see what Tsunade saw. And what Tsunade saw was Sasuke's eyes soften up, with his infamous none-smirk fraction-of-a-smile.

"Yes, I would have."

* * *

><p>Tsunade laughed. Who knew an Uchiha could display so much emotion when his face didn't change one bit?<p>

And that was the night Tsunade realized that it wasn't Sakura or Naruto who were being too naive and foolish as everyone else saw it. It was everyone else who was being naive and foolish. For the first time, Tsunade had stopped looking through the eyes of an angered woman who held a grudge against the man who had hurt her daughter-figure, but looked through the eyes of Naruto and Sakura, and finally saw the man they saw so different from what everyone else did. She learned that beneath that tough exteriour, Sasuke Uchiha was the kind of man who would go through great lenghts to protect the ones he loved. Maybe he didn't show it, but the emotion was there.

Then again, Uchihas were known to surprise people.

But the one who truly surprised her the most was Haruno Sakura. Tsunade had heard of the pink-haired kunoichi left behind by her teammates. Tsunade recalls taking a stroll down Konoha to refresh her memory of her childhood home. There she had spotted the girl she was informed would have no missions for a while due to her lacking a team. She was talking to the Yamanaka girl, along with the Hyuuga girl and the girl who was known as a weapon mistress. All who were talking about their missions with their teams, and how they had so much fun. But the pink haired kunoichi stayed silent, wih a sad smile.

Tsunade felt bad for her. For a second. She began to see more of her everywhere, on the streets, in the library, on training grounds...she wasn't anything special. Most likely to be one of those Chunin kunoichi that retire at a young age. But there was a look in the girl's eyes Tsunade never missed. Everytime she saw her, she looked as if she was on the verge of crying, and just one little push would have sent her tears flying. And it made Tsunade feel so bad, despite not even knowing her name, that she mentally nicknamed her Pitiful Pinky. Tsunade didn't full out felt sad for her because if this kunoichi was really determined to be the best, she would that instead of crying, she should train more. Now that her teammates are gone, her sensei, who was apparently Kakashi Hatake, could train her more.

You can imagine Tsunade's surprise when a week later, she had caught the very same girl finally asking Kakashi to train her.

_Five Years Ago..._

Tsunade was talking to Kakashi, when she saw the girl, armful of medical books, running towards them, "Kakashi-sensei!" she yelled, waving her hand franatically.

Tsunade raised her eyebrow at the girl, and Kakashi turned around. As soon as Sakura caught up to them, she panted, "Kakashi-sensei...and...Tsunade-sama.." she said, offering a little bow. Obviously, she didn't expect her to be there.

'Well, look who it is...' Tsunade thought, amused, 'Pitiful Pinky, is it?'

"Sakura...what is it?" Kakashi asked. Tsunade sensed a tone in Kakashi's voice. 'So Sakura's your real name, huh? What's wrong with you, Hatake, are you ashamed of her, or something?' she wondered.

"Um, well, I was thinking...you know, Sasuke-kun's gone..." she said, with a hint of sadness in her voice. Tsunade instantly knew she was attached to the so-called missing Uchiha immediately. "And Naruto's with Jiraiya-sama, so I was hoping you could train me."

'Huh...and here I thought you weren't going to do anything but mope.' Tsunade said with a little grin. It was rather wise for the girl to ask for more training. Tsunade had seen her at the library every day, probably reading every book known to mankind. Obviously, she wanted to improve. And with a spirit like that and a vicious training like Kakashi Hatake's, there's no telling what this girl could do. Maybe Tsunade might have to think of another nickname for her.

"Sorry, Sakura. I really don't have time."

Wait, what?

The Haruno girl looked absolutely crestfallen. Tsunade was a bit surprised. 'A little harsh, Kakashi.' she thought. The girl looked like Kakashi had just kicked her down and then some. Tsunade looked at Kakashi's face. Not one hint of doubt or guilt. Tsunade was, in retrospect, a little bit colder those days, but she did feel guilty for the girl, even when she didn't do anything wrong.

"I...see." Sakura said. 'But you don't.' Tsunade disagreed in her thoughts. She knew it just as well as the girl did that Kakashi was unusually harsh. Maybe not showing it much. But still. Kakashi offered a smile to the two as he began to walk away. It was almost as if he was completely oblivious to Sakura's feelings. Tsunade stared at the girl, whose eyes never left her teacher. Was she really just going to take that?

As it turns out, she wasn't. Immediately, Tsunade felt a strange aura around the girl beside her, and couldn't help but widen her eyes a bit. 'This girl...' Tsunade began to think. This girl had no ninjas in her family. She was the first. She had no unique abilities or kekkei genkei. Compared to her teammates, her childhood's been a fairytale. But Tsunade saw that the girl felt so much negative emotions...hurt, anger, betrayal, all emotions went further than it should have for a 12 year old.

And that's when Haruno Sakura snapped.

"You don't have time to train _me_, but you would have if I were _Sasuke_, right!" she yelled at an alarming voice. She noted she didn't use the suffixe to the Uchiha's name at the moment. Kakashi stopped in his tracks, eyes nearly as wide as the Hokage's.

"What?" Kakashi asked, confused.

"If I were Sasuke..." Sakura repeated in a calmer voice this time, "Or even Naruto, you would have time. But somehow, I'm the only exception to that. Why is that, SENSEI?" she said, in a bitter tone.

"Sakura, you know that's not true." Kakashi protested nonchalantly.

"Like hell it isn't!" Sakura raged, "Even now, you can't bring yourself to take me seriously!"

"Sakura, we both know I have the utmost respect for you and your abilities." Kakashi said. His eyes became a bit more serious, Sakura noted, satisfied. But still not enough.

"Really? What 'abilities' do you speak of, sensei? While you've been teaching Naruto and Sasuke great things, what exactly have you taught me?" Sakura rhetorically asked.

Kakashi didn't speak. His expression refused to show any hint of dignity leaving at the realization that she was right. His eyes betrayed him, however, and told another story. He felt like he should have been scolded, or called out on for singling her out. He honestly never noticed it. But it was true. Whenever she would ask for more training, he would decline. Was it because he thought she couldn't handle it? Well, as much as he hated to say it, there was some truth in that statement.

"I could have been great, you know." Sakura broke the silence, "I would have...could have...should have. If only you believed in me half as much as you believed in Sasuke and Naruto."

Kakashi stood there in silence. What was he supposed to tell her? That a little sexism was involved because he couldn't bring himself to stop seeing the little girl in Sakura? He knew she had matured. The pain from Sasuke's betrayal had caused her to grow wiser, and closer to being an adult. When Sasuke or Naruto got hurt, Kakashi knew they could take care of themselves. Sakura was the one you always had to watch. Like some sort of puppy without a leash. If he told Sakura, she would go on a rant on how sexist he was being. Maybe he was. But she was Sakura...small, frail, fragile Sakura. She was like crystals, ones that would break at the accidental drop. And Kakashi didn't want to be the cause of those shattered pieces.

He was about to tell it all. About to tell how he really felt about the whole thing. But as he finally brought himself to look at the student that he failed's eyes, he noticed a look on her face. A determined one he only saw during her fight with Ino.

"You know what? I don't need your training." Sakura said boldly, "I don't need training from someone who doesn't believe in my abilities."

Before Kakashi could answer, Sakura sharply turned her back on him and was now facing a stunned Tsunade. Tsunade now saw the determination in the girl's fiery green eyes. Never did she think green eyes could look so sharp and full of passion. And what Sakura did next would shock the rest of the world.

"Tsunade-sama," she said as she bowed, "I have heard you're one of the Legendary Sannin and you're the best medic there is. I admire you, because you have proven to people everywhere that kunoichis can be strong. So I ask that you train me to be as strong as you."

Kakashi's eyes widened. 'S-Sakura!' he thought in surprise. He had never seen her so bold and daring. He was impressed, but surely a Sannin who just became Hokage wouldn't accept such a thing, would she? Especially the legendary Tsunade.

Tsunade read his mind just by reading the expression on his face. 'Okay, now he's underestimating me, too?' she thought, annoyed. But her eyes trailed back to the girl in front of her. That whimpy, whiny puppy-dog hurtful look she had on her face merely seconds ago was washed away and replaced by an unusual strength within her. She could sense it. The way her fists were clenched, the way her eyes were squinting, the way her feet seemed stuck to the ground. That's when Tsunade had seen it. This girl...like her, she was already looked down upon from the moment she decided to be a ninja simply because she was a girl. But to top it off, she had teammates who all had special abilities, whether it be a bloodline ability or endless amounts of chakra, that alone was enough to break someone's spirit down.

Maybe she did it because she resented Kakashi's underestimation of her. She was the Hokage, after all! Did he really think she was so disorginized she couldn't juggle paperwork and training a young girl at the same time? And well, maybe she did it because she felt pity for the girl she's seen so many times on the verge of tears in the streets of Konoha. Or maybe it was because the girl she's come to nickname as 'Pitiful Pinky' suddenly became, well, courageous and somewhat scary with the way she was angry.

Whatever the reason, Tsunade never regretted it.

"It won't be easy, Haruno. For both you and me. You'll have to work harder than you ever have. You have to be smarter, stronger, faster, sharper, wiser than you've ever been in your whole life. You'll have little time to sleep, eat or socialize with your friends. And I must warn you...I have taken in three pupils in before you. All three of them barely survived their third month of training." Tsunade warned. A little bit scarier than she orginally intended. Her eyes were strictly on the girl, and she could only imagine in amusement Kakashi's face.

"I understand, Tsunade-sama, and I'm ready to do whatever it takes." she said, not showing an ounce of fear.

"And I'm a busy woman, as you know. Being the new Hokage means having to fill out tons of paperwork constantly. So why should I trouble myself by training you in the first place?" Tsunade asked, hoping this little question would make her stutter or fumble in her words. Just a little bit of uncertainty was all it would have taken for Tsunade to refuse.

But she stood tall, and didn't blink an eye.

"Because, like I said before, I could have been great. I was overshadowed by my teammates, and now they've left, I'm determined that when they come back, I'll be on the same level as they are, worthy of fighting beside them. I don't just want to be the best that I can be, I want to be better than that. I want to surpass myself to the point where I may be allowed to become an ANBU, and even then, I would still work harder. I won't disappoint you, Tsunade-sama. I'll make myself worthy of being called your pupil, and hopefully, someday you will be proud to call me your pupil, as well." she said.

'Damn,' Tsunade thought, 'if I didn't know any better, I'd think she rehearsed that entire speech in front of her mirror sixty times in a row.'

"Tomorrow, your training starts a 6 AM sharp. We'll decide tomorrow when it will end. You understand?" Tsunade finally answered.

And with a grin, but her eyes still filled with intensity, Sakura nodded.

* * *

><p>And within three months, Sakura Haruno still held the same determination as she did when she asked Tsunade to train her. She was the first pupil to make it within the first three months. She showed up early, did everything she was told and when she fumbled, she always found a way to bounce back. Never had Tsunade been so impress.<p>

Within those three months, along the way, Tsunade had stopped nicknaming her 'Pitiful Pinky'. She now called her Sakura, her protoge, her apprentice, her second self, and, as a little bonus, 'Scary Girl'. Because if you've ever seen Haruno Sakura truly mad, well, you'd know why.

Tsunade had sworn to the ninjas there wouldn't be any dangerous missions. And technically, this was an escort mission. So it was important, but not dangerous...Yes, that's her excuse. Still, she felt bad for sending her best team, who all defeated the Akatsuki with just the three of them, just for an escort mission. Well, escorting the Prince of Tsukigakure was no laughing matter. Especially when that prince apparently had such a 'scandelous' reputation.

To put that lovely little theory to justice, her assistant came rushing through the door, with cheeks that reminded Tsunade of her apprentice. Tsunade was, of course, suspicious. Much like herself, it took a lot to make Shizune blush. Plus, Shizune clutched her clipboard like it was some kind of life support.

"T-Tsunade-sama, the Prince of T-Tsukigakure is here." Shizune stuttered in a Hinata Hyuuga-like fashion.

"Okay..." Tsunade said, feeling slightly awkward, "Send him in, and call Team Seven and send them in immediately."

Shizune nodded. As she turned around, Tsunade called out to her, "And Shizune?"

"H-Hai?" Shizune asked.

"...Did the Prince cause that blush?" Tsunade said with a smirk. Shizune gave an embarassed squeal as her eyes widened, and turned even redder than before and immediately left. Tsunade chuckled. Barely a second later, the door was opened once again. But not by Shizune. By a young man, roughly around the Konoha 12's age, and he was...HANDSOME.

His reputation preceeds him. Tsunade saw Tsukigakure and its people, and saw how gorgeous they all were, so naturally, she expected the same for its prince. But this man was beyond handsome. He was the absolute perfect height, bit taller than Naruto but almost Sasuke's height and he was dressed in royal clothing with a royal blue cloak around him. His brown-red hair was at that perfect cut for boys with hair that reached until his lips and with bangs that hid his forehead. His brown-reddish hair went just perfectly with his skin, which was neither too pale, nor too tan. Tsunade would have called it fair skin. His face was just, like the rest of him, perfectly shaped, gifted with a diamond-shaped chin. His features were delicate, soft, giving him a sensitive-guy appearance. His gray eyes reminded Tsunade of the dark storms Konoha would have during the Shinobi Wars, but they were absolutely piercing.

Tsunade had to admit. If this kid wasn't practically half her age, she would go crazy for him. It was no surprise this kid was the prince. And behind him, a shy, timide Shizune that suddenly ressembled Hinata Hyuuga stepped in, still hugging her clipboard as if it were some kind of safety blanket. Beside the Prince, she looked mousy in comparison. Or maybe it was her posture that looked mousy.

"T-Tsunade-sama, I present you Hotohori Ranmaru, Prince of Tsukigakure..." Shizune stuttered.

"Why are you stuttering? I would think a beautiful woman like yourself would have confidence." Ranmaru smiled charmingly.

Shizune blushed once again. "Thank you, Shizune, you may go now." Tsunade said, wanting to spare her assistant further embarassment. Shizune gave an odd look in return. Obviously, she was thankful Tsunade picked up the message and sent her off, but at the same time, she felt sad about leaving Ranmaru.

"Don't worry, Shizune-san, I'll see you soon." Ranmaru smiled, as if he read her mind.

"H-Hai." Shizune answered nervously before turning aroun and leaving. Tsunade was honestly impressed. Being a kunoichi, she had to be a master of flirtation due to seduction missions. It looked like Ranmaru was someone completely innocent who was oblivious of him charm. But Tsunade knew better.

"Your Highness, welcome to Konoha." she greeted, although she wanted to drop kick this kid, to be honest. Kami knows she could do it with her little toe.

"I see Konoha's reputation is accurate. The beauty of the women here are equivilant to those of Tsuki's." Ranmaru smiled as he gave a polite bow, "I have heard great things about you, Tsunade-san."

'Are you hitting on me? Does your mommy even know that you're out?' Tsunade thought bitterly. He was being polite and charming but she wanted to hit him. Hard. How odd.

"I see my team is not yet here." Ranmaru noted, "Perhaps Konoha's reputation of having the best NINJAS aren't very accurate..."

Tsunade seethed, but kept calm. "I assure you, Your Highness," she said, trying hard not to make the 'Your Highness' sound sarcastic and mocking, "Konoha has the absolute best ninjas. In fact, just for your escort, I have called Team Seven themselves. At this moment, they are on their way here. And we won't be kept long."

"Team Seven, huh? I've heard of Team Seven, but never understood what made them so special. I don't know who is on this infamous team, or what they did that made them so popular. Care to clarify, Tsunade-san?" Ranmaru asked with a small smile.

'Grr...' Tsunade thought, 'Even when he's being polite, I want to slap that smile off his face.'

"Well, Your Highness, first of all, Team Seven consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Jinchuuriki, hero, and one of the few I'm considering to be the next Hokage, Uchiha Sasuke, the Uchiha prodigy and my apprentice, Haruno Sakura, who can, by the way, crush mountains. What makes them so SPECIAL, as you say...is that the three of them, alone, defeated an entire organization I'm sure you're aware of. The Akatsuki." Tsunade explained.

Ranmaru's eyebrow raised, "The Akatsuki? Impossible. They're made of the best ninjas of the whole world. Prodigies. While others were Genins, they were already in ANBU. To say that only three ninjas took them all out is absurd." Ranmaru reasoned.

"But it's not. Do not doubt them, Your Highness. They all have unique abilities you will not find in any other ordinary ninja. In fact, they're all so powerful, that in exactly a month, a ceremony will be held just for them to be officially named the Second Sannin." Tsunade smirked, proud of her ninjas.

Ranmaru still wasn't convinced, though. "I mean no disrespect, Tsunade-san, but I believe I will decide for myself whether they are qualified ninjas or not." Ranmaru decided. Tsunade rolled her eyes. As if Ranmaru could judge ninjas. Hell, even the Academy Ninjas could probably knock Ranmaru out with their hands tied behind their backs.

A barely audible knock was heard, and Tsunade tilted her head and saw Shizune once again, "Um, Tsunade-sama, Sasuke Uchiha is here." she said so softly Tsunade almost didn't hear her.

"Send him in." Tsunade approved, then turned her head to Ranmaru, "You'll be meeting one of them now. Be impressed. They only heard about the mission exactly five minutes ago and they're already arriving."

Before Ranmaru could protest, Sasuke came in, as if on cue. But unlike Ranmaru, he didn't bow. Tsunade smirked. Typical Uchihas. So self-righteous, they refuse to bow even to someone in a higher position. "Prince Hotohori Ranmaru, meet Uchiha Sasuke, the last remaining Uchiha, the infamous clan I'm sure you've heard of."

"Of course." Ranmaru said before giving a slight nod to Sasuke, "Uchiha-san." he said in acknowledgement.

"...Hn." Sasuke said. Tsunade could have snapped his neck off right there, 'He's a prince, you idiot!' Tsunade thought, 'He could have your head if he wanted to! Now's not the time for your Uchiha arrogance!'

Surprisngly, Ranmaru didn't seem the least bit offended at Sasuke's impoliteness. Yet.

Barely miliseconds later, a running, panting Naruto rushed into the office, "Baa...chan..." he said, panting after each word, then gathered up all his breath and pointed his finger at Sasuke, "ARREST THE TEME NOW! HE TRIED TO KILL ME TODAY! All because I said that now that she won't start dating, he might have a chance with Saku-EY! HE DID IT AGAIN! SEE?" Naruto boasted as he dodge another three kunais.

Ranmaru looked back at the Uchiha, 'Did he throw that? Impossible. He was right beside me and I didn't see him move an inch.' he thought.

"Uzumaki! Don't call me that and do not bring personal matters in here! And Uchiha, no attempted murders in my office!" Tsunade yelled.

'So he did throw them...impressive.' Ranmaru thought.

"Your Highness, meet Uzumaki Naruto, another member of Team Seven." Tsunade introduced.

Instead of bowing to Ranmaru, like a proper shinobi would, Naruto put his hands on his hips and looked at Ranmaru up and down. Ranmaru raised his eyebrow in annoyance. Tsunade had noticed he didn't wear that annoyingly charming smile anymore, but was almost cringing at how close Naruto was.

"HEH? THIS is the PRINCE? He looks more like some weak, ol' pretty boy!" Naruto yelled disbelief.

Ranmaru shook his head disapprovingly, "Tsunade-san, I'd like you to reconsider sending Uzumaki to escort me. Not only is he an incompetant idiot, but I can't possibly be guarded by someone who harbors romantic feelings for me."

Tsunade could have died laughing out loud, but she stayed silent, and Sasuke smirked in amusement.

"WHAT? I'M NOT GAY, LADY-FACE! THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE A COMPLIMENT! Know why I called you pretty boy? 'Cause boys are handsome, and girls are pretty! You don't look like a guy, you look like a girl! And I'm happily in a relationship with the lovely Hinata-chan AND I am not an incompe...incomputer...incompanion...whatever-you-said idiot! Watch who you're taking to, Lady-Face!" Naruto yelled.

Once again, it took all of Tsunade's self-control not to laugh and Sasuke kept his smirk. While it is true Ranmaru was beyond handsome, some might think his sensitive, delicate features made him look somewhat feminine, especially those lips.

"First off, my features are nothing close to being feminine. In fact, they make me look sensitive and charming. Secondly, you watch YOUR mouth, Shinobi...Because your precious 'Hinata-chan' might end up dumping you after meeting me." Ranmaru smirked.

Now THAT sent Naruto over the edge. "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HINATA-CHAN! Don't even breathe the same air as her or look in her direction or else I will end you! I'll start by making a Rasengan and shoving it right up your hairy-"

"Sorry, I'm late!" an frantic, almost-musical voice apologized. It shut Naruto up and turned everyone's direction to the voice.

Ranmaru's eyes widened a bit. The girl was...simply beautiful. Surely, this can't be the third ninja? She looked far too beautiful to be doing such a job! This girl looked like she's been pampered her whole life! He barely knew where to start. With the beautiful, unique, exotic-looking pink hair that ressembled his hometown's cherry blossoms? The fair, soft-looking skin? That perfect Goddess figure that could have rivaled the Hokage's? Those emerald green eyes?

"Prince Hotohori Ranmaru," she acknowledged him as she gave him a bow, "Shizune told me you were already here. I apologize for my tardiness."

Ranmaru was stunned. Her voice was just as sweet as her appearance. It was the kind of voice Ranmaru always imagined angels to have.

"You're picking up on your ex-sensei's habits." Tsunace smirked.

"In all fairness, I was at the library doing research on Tsukigakure. I like to know about everything when I go somewhere." the angel smiled.

'Beautiful, smart, polite...Surely this can't be...?' Ranmaru began to think.

"Prince Ranmaru, I'd like you to meet the final member of your escort team: my apprentice and protoge, Haruno Sakura."

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><p>So, you finally met Ranmaru. And now...THE REAL ACTION BEGINS! :) I'll admit, up till now, it's been little fillers of what I expected life would be like after Sasuke's return (well, I pictured it darker, but I make a habit of making dark shows light and light shows dark...yeah, I know.) This story has some serious undertones, but I mostly pictured it to be a lighhthearted fic (of course, that's how I started my first fic...and that fic ended with someone shooting someone xP). So, for now, Sasuke is...I wouldn't say in denial. When he says he doesn't like Sakura that way, he meant it. I think the proper word is...confused, yep. That's the right word...<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: Tsunade's Request

_**We Could Have Had It All**_

**AN: OK, I won't lie. This chapter was much, MUCH longer. But the app I'm using to write messed up and deleted the original chapter, which was like 9,668 words in total to be exact...Yeah, I'm pretty depressed about it since I really liked the chapter. Some changes were made (which tends to happen when I accidentally delete a chapter and have to rewrite it). So bare with me if this chap seems rushed, the next one won't be so rushed, I swear. The next one will probably come a little bit later than planned, I'm planning to finish a chapter from a different story of mine before I update this one.**

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><p>Sakura would be lying if she said her first impression of the prince was a bad one. The first thing that popped in her head w how...gorgeous he was. And she was sure she wasn't the first one to think so. Thankfully, though, her kunoichi instincts prevented her from dropping her jaw and gawking. She politely bowed as Tsunade introduced her to the prince, then as Tsunade explained the details of the mission, she began to listen. In fact, she was impressed with herself. Here she was, beside two of the most gorgeous men she's ever seen (the other being her teammate, but...) and instead of going completely crazy about it, she was listening to the Hokage's orders like a responsible kunoichi. Which was probably a good thing, since someone had to be respectable towards the prince. She had already assumed Naruto offended him somehow and Sasuke was too stoic to give a proper welcome. Someone had to do it right, for Team Seven's sake...and reputation.<p>

She was being so responsible, listening to Tsunade, that she barely noticed the oh-so-handsome prince hinself...was staring at her.

The Prince knew he wasn't being very subtle. It was inappropriate for a prince to act like so, but Ranmaru couldn't help it. There was something about this girl that glued his very eyes to her. He just couldn't look away. It was like seeing something magical, and never wanting to take your eyes away in fear that it might disappear. Her appearance was addictive, and Ranmaru kept looking at her as if he wanted to tresure every inch of her image and plant it in his mind. 'Strange...' Ranmaru thought, 'No one's ever caught my attention as much as her.' She was surely something special. Not even the women of Tsuki, who have been called the most beautiful women in all of the Hidden Villages, could catch his attention like she did.

And sure, in Ranmaru's mind, it was completely innocent. She didn't notice a thing, so it was all good. Well, maybe Sakura herself didn't notice a thing, but her teammates did.

Ranmaru was completely oblivious to Naruto's glare as Sakura was to everything going on in the room but Tsunade's words. Which was pretty surprising. Naruto's teeth were grinding back and forth, which everyone heard, but ignored. His mouth formed an odd rectangle shape, and all of his teeth could be seen. His cerulean eyes were wider than ever, as if he wanted to see every move Ranmaru would make, so he could stop him if he did so much as a blink in Sakura's direction. His face hardened at the very sight. Sure, he held no more feelings for his pink haired teammate, but this was Sakura! The girl he grew up with, protected, came to know as an older sister and has seen crying so many times that he was ready to kill whoever would hurt her one more time. And this guy had the NERVE to STARE at her, IN FRONT OF HIM? Oh, if looks could kill...

Well, if looks could kill, both Naruto AND Sasuke would have killed Prince Ranmaru. Naruto was so busy glaring at Ranmaru, he barely noticed how DEADLY Sasuke's glare was. Sure, while Naruto sported a glare that you would have to be a blind man who was a thousand miles away, behind a great brick wall during the night not to have seen it, Sasuke was simply...menacing. He was very, VERY subtle about it that only one person saw it, but Sasuke looked at Ranmaru as if Ranmaru had abused him in every way. His body felt tense, and he barely noticed his hands were slowly heading towards his kunai pouch. His fists were clenched so tight that he felt his fingernails dig into the palm of his hands. His eyes were usually Sasuke's favorite feature about himself. They were onyx, pitch black as night, but most of all, being colorless, they didn't reveal much emotion, unlike Sakura's emotional emerald orbs or Naruto's loud blue eyes. But somehow, this time, his eyes betrayed him, and in some way Sasuke wouldn't be able to explain, the annoyance and anger in his eyes were showing. But the worst part was...Sasuke wasn't even aware of the emotions he was showing. It seemed to happen out of instinct.

"...So basically, if we leave soon, we'll make it at Tsukigakure tomorrow near midnight?" Sakura confirmed. Tsunade nodded. As the discussion drew to a close, Sasuke and Naruto snapped out of it. They had barely listened to anything Tsunade said, which was surprising, at least for Sasuke.

"Yes, if you take this road right here," Tsunade said, pointing on the map in front of them, "you're most likely to avoid any enemy nin that might want to attack, and it's also the quickest."

"Great, so, shouldn't we get going?" Sakura asked.

"Actually, yes, you should. Your Highness, I wish you a safe trip. Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura...don't disappoint me." Tsunade said.

"C'mon, Baa-chan, when have we ever disappointed you?" Naruto exclaimed. Tsunade rolled her eyes. As soon as she dismissed them, Team Seven, along with Prince Ranmaru, began to leave her office. But Tsunade bit her lip, feeling a wave of nausea in her stomach. Before the last member had a chance to leave, "Uchiha." she called out.

Sasuke obidiently turned around. But as he turned, his eyes shifted to his teammates. He couldn't help but notice that although Ranmaru was standing between Naruto and Sakura, he was leaning more towards Sakura, as if he wanted to make contact with her. Sasuke's teeth clenched, but he ignored it and turned his attention to Tsunade.

"You do realize this is your first official mission since your return. If you mess it up, it'll add another year of probation. If you intentionally sabotage it, it could cost your very status as a ninja." Tsunade threatened.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. No, he did not take his ninja status lightly. On the contrary, but he's heard this song so many times, it loses its power quickly. "Hn." he said, but in a tone that showed he didn't take the matter litly.

"Just be careful, Uchiha. One wrong move, and I could have your career as a ninja stripped away from you in a blink of an eye." Tsunade warned.

Sasuke nodded, and he began to leave once again. But the truth was, threatening him wasn't what Tsunade intended to do. "Uchiha..." she called out once again.

Sasuke stopped, and sighed in annoyance, "What?" he said this time.

"...Take care of my apprentice, okay?" Tsunade said, biting her lip as if she regretted saying it. But then she saw the look in the Uchiha's eyes. She noticed they seemed softer. Sasuke Uchiha could deny it all he wants, but Tsunade knew he cared for Sakura. Naruto and Sakura were the only two people Sasuke cared about, although he'd never admit it. But Sakura always had a special place in his heart. Since they were kids, there was just something about Sakura that made anyone become protective of her. And Tsunade knew that something was going on between those two. They may just be barely scratching the surface of it, but Tsunade knew when it came to Sakura, she just had to count on her top ninjas.

Sasuke was puzzled for a second. But he saw the Hokage's expression on her face. Being Sasuke, he had never seen any other expression on Tsunade's face than anger and resentment. He never even begun to think that Tsunade had any other feelings than the one he had seen before. But she did. Her concern for Sakura clearly proved that. But why would she tell him this? Was it because she, too, sensed what Sasuke did before? That somehow...Prince Ranmaru was bad somehow?

Whatever the reason, Sasuke nodded in agreement. As he finally left, he had to admit to himself, he felt a little bit insulted. Was he so cold in the eyes of others that he would appear careless of his own teammates? His only, Kami himself knows he'd deny it, friends? He would have taken care of her regardless...

Tsunade sighed heavily, then rubbed her temples. She was hoping asking the Uchiha to do that, the wave of nausea would leave. But it's still there...growing stronger by the second. She shook her head, disagreeing with her feelings, 'It's okay, Sakura's been on worse missions than this. This is kids stuff compared to what she's done...So why do I have a bad feeling about this?' she thought to herself.

It could have been women's intuition, or kunoichi's instinct, but whatever it was, Tsunade should have listened to herself. Because she had no idea just how right she was about her instincts.

* * *

><p>"Um, Your Highness, I really hope you don't mind, but I was informed of this mission pretty late. In fact, I was only told of this mission barely fifteen minutes ago. So, if you don't mind, I'd like at least an extra half-hour to pack..." Sakura said sheepishly. She felt bad about asking something like this. She didn't like looking so unprofessional, especially in front of a prince.<p>

"Please, Sakura-san, there's no need for formalities here. You may call me Ranmaru." he said, smiling. Sakura gave a small smile back. Surprisingly, she didn't feel like fainting at the sight of the Prince's smile. His smile was unbelievably eye-catching, no doubt, but nothing could ever compare to Sasuke's smile.

With that last thought, Sakura began to frown, '_Seriously, Sakura?'_ she scolded herself.

"Hmm...how about we call you Ladyface?" Naruto laughed. Sasuke smirked, and Sakura couldn't surpress her giggle. While it is true that the Prince was just gorgeous, she can't deny he did have certain feminine features.

Ranmaru was simply breathless from seeing Sakura's smile and hearing her soft laugh, but he soon snapped out of it as soon as Naruto made that comment, "You will not refer to me as a 'lady' or 'face', SHINOBI. Instead, you will refer to me as 'Your Highness' and nothing else." Ranmaru answered. The way he said 'shinobi' sounded like he was saying the word 'scum' or 'commoner'.

"Hey, wait, how come Sakura-chan can call you by your name but we can't?" Naruto asked.

"Simple. Because as I've seen before, Sakura-san has more dignity and has the proper respect for royalty like myself. That alone makes her worth more than you two so-called shinobi. I was told that Team Seven had three of the best ninjas in all the Hidden Villages, but I have to say, while Sakura-san brings her reputation to justice, neither of you do not show it much. Naruto Uzumaki, you don't seem to possess any more knowledge than those Academy students. Sasuke Uchiha, I'm beginning to doubt your humanity. Honestly, your face has not changed since I have met you and judging by the way you met me, you seem to think you are better than me, which is clearly not the case. I'm starting to wonder if this your oh-so-powerful Uchiha clan is as truly as powerful as they say. If it were not for Sakura-san, I should report back to Tsunade and demand another team to escort me. One should not count for protection from others who are _beneath_ them." Ranamaru finished.

It all happened so fast. As soon as the words left Ranmaru's mouth, Sasuke flashed before Naruto and Sakura's eyes. The next thing they know, they found Sasuke's hand against Ranmaru's neck, pressing him against the stone-cold wall, Sasuke's glare looking murderous, "_What. Did. You. Say_?" Sasuke said in a dangerously low, grazed, raspy voice.

Ranmaru didn't answer. Oh, no, he did much worse. He actually KEPT the almighty holier-than-thou confident look on his face, as if Sasuke's actions didn't effect him at all. And Sasuke hated it. The fact that though he, Sasuke Uchiha, a man who had made even the strongest of ninjas beg on their knees for mercy, was threatening a man, who was no more than a mere prince who wouldn't be able to save his own pathetic life if he could, and the same man didn't feel threatened or scared at all. Instead, he looked _smug_. And _that_ is what angered Sasuke the most.

But Ranmaru's so-called smugness disappeared as soon as he saw Sasuke's fist heading towards him. The prince closed his eyes, preparing himself for the pain. And Sasuke was preparing himself for the satisfaction.

That is, he would have...if a certain little kunoichi didn't stop him.

So fast and swift that she would have made Rock Lee proud (not that she needed to do much to make a guy like Lee proud anyway...), Sakura ran to the boys, pushed Sasuke's stomach away from the prince, and grabbed his fist with one of her hands while the other held Ranmaru's stomach, protecting him.

Naruto stared wide-eyed, for he honestly couldn't figure out what just happened. He and Sasuke have been insulted thousands of times. Most of the time for no reason. They've gotten used to that. It hardly effected them anymore. They climbed their way to the top and no one would dare utter a word against them. Well, maybe Naruto. It may have taken 17 years (18 in a couple of months) but the village finally saw just how special Naruto was, and had grown to admire him. Sasuke was a different story. It was like he took the reversed direction Naruto took. He was respected and admired, but now, as an 18 year old, he was feared and known as a monster. But it never seemed to bother Sasuke. Naruto always thought that Sasuke only truly cared about what Naruto and Sakura thinks of him, because they were the ones who truly mattered. Sasuke's heard it all. Insults against him, his clan, his precious people. But this prince managed to push Sasuke's button in one day while the villagers have been doing it every day since his return.

Question was, why was Sasuke that angry against him?

Sasuke saw a flash of pink stand between him and his target. Before he knew it, his punch was stopped by Sakura. Although he didn't strain himself physically, he felt emotionally tired, and found himself panting in anger. The anger was, of course, directed to Ranmaru. Ranmaru opened his eyes, and revealed shock as he saw the girl in front of him. In his hometown, women were always considered lower-class and weaker than men. And this girl stared at this..._monster_ with courageous eyes, barely even flinching, while Ranmaru actually, for the first time, feared for his life.

"Sasuke..." Sakura warned. Sasuke knew she meant business when she didn't add the suffixe to his name. "I know you're angry, but remember, this is your first official mission. If you mess it up, it's all over for you. No one wants that to happen, so you're going to have to control yourself."

_'How ironic,'_ Sakura thought,_ 'I, Haruno Sakura, am telling Uchiha Sasuke how to deal with anger management.'_

"Yes, she's right, for that alone, _Shinobi_, I could have you arrested, or worse, sentenced to deat-" Ranmaru was interrupted as Sakura's hand, which was previously on his stomach to protect him from the Uchiha, soon rised up to his neck, which he felt being pushed harshly by her, "_Don't you dare finish that sentence_!" Sakura warned angrily.

Naruto gulped, '_Okay, Ladyface, you saw me and the teme angry. Prepare yourself for Sakura-chan...'_ he thought, feeling slightly sorry for the guy. Only a tad. A little. A bit. Okay, he didn't care all that much, but still.

"You shouldn't talk! Who do you think you are, insulting my teammates like that! Just because you seem to favor me for some reason, you can't just insult them in front of me and not expect me to say anything about it! I'll have you know that while they might each have their flaws, they are perfectly capable shinobi. In fact, they're the strongest I've ever seen and everytime I'm with them, I always feel safe! So while they might be good, no, great ninjas, _you_, are a horrible prince!" Sakura accused.

Ranmaru could not prevent his jaw dropping. Surely, even the noblest of princes or kings would have done he same thing. How dare this girl just accuse him of being a horrible prince? "Excuse me? I-"

"A proper prince would not treat those who may be inferiour to him in power like dirt, and he would not be so arrogant about his status! And a proper prince would never, EVER, call anyone beneath them! A proper prince would treat everyone equally, be they royals, civilians, ninjas or anything else! A prince who doesn't behave properly is nothing short of a spoiled brat!" Sakura exclaimed angrily.

The world seem to have frozen in mid-air. It was nothing Naruto didn't already see. Sakura was just as protective of 'her boys' as they were for her. He had witnessed her screaming at villagers who spoke kindly towards her because they would speak ill of one of her teammates, he had seen Sakura in heated debates against ignorant teenagers and children. He'd even, accidentally, and without her knowing, seen her fight about it with her own mother...Naruto knew they both meant as much to her as she did to them.

But Sasuke wasn't aware of Sakura's defensiveness. He knew Sakura had a temper, but...she didn't punch Ranmaru. She didn't call him names or anything...yet you could feel the anger off of her. Her eyes, always the windows to her soul, seemed darker as they burned with pure anger towards Ranmaru. And Sasuke could never forget Sakura was the least hateful person he had ever met. And yet, just by insulting him and Naruto, she showed hatred for the person doing so. 'Do we really mean that much to you?...' he wondered.

Ranmaru was simply stunned. Today seemed like a day of firsts to him. The first time he had been frightened, the first time he's met a girl as truly captivating as Haruno Sakura and the first time someone actually talked back to him. You see, even as a child, people rarely defied Ranmaru. There was just...something about the boy, a certain aura, if you will, that said that this kid was not a kid you wanted to mess with. This was the boy to whom his elders referred to as -san or -sama when he was five years old. The boy who always looked at people, be they younger or far older than him, in the eyes. No one, not even his parents or siblings, dared to tell him that he was, in fact, spoiled. But her...she didn't care who Ranmaru was, or who he thought he was. She was so upfront and honest with him in a way he's never experienced before. She put him right in his place.

As a prince, he had several choices. One, leave all this alone and pretend it never happened. Two, strip her of her ninjas status or...'Hmm...She is beautiful, smart, strong and yet so bold. I believe I know what to do.' Ranmaru finally decided.

"...Maybe you are right. Maybe I have misjudged your teammates." Ranmaru admitted. Sakura took a step back. She was obviously not expecting that. It seeme too out-of-character for Ranmaru. Granted, she just met him, but she simply knew a man like him wouldn't cave in so easily like he just did.

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT, YOU DID!" Naruto yelled, half of it was yelled out of anger and the other half was...well, his natural loudmouth nature. Hey, can't help him. The boy kept his mouth shut when Ranmaru insulted, and to him, that was definitely a challenge.

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. '_Maybe you are right. Maybe I have misjudged your teammates.'_ The words of Ranmaru repeated themselves in Sasuke's mind. Call him crazy, but he knew an arrogant, prideful man when he saw one. As the saying goes, takes one to know one. The prince did not seem like the type of man who would admit such a thing, at least not so directly. And Naruto might have been too focused on his words to notice, but as a ninja, Sasuke did not focus on the words, but on the way the words were said, and it seemed like the prince was merely humouring Sakura instead of actually meaning what he said.

"Hn." Sasuke said in reply. In return to the prince's obvious false apology, his tone clearly said he didn't believe a word of what Ranmaru had said. Sakura sensed this, and sighed. She could tell the prince and Sasuke were _not_ going to get along.

But Ranmaru ignored the two, giving an uncaring nod as he turned to Sakura, "I must say, Sakura-san, you are not what I expected." he said.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, slightly worried. Had she offended him too much? 'Of course you did, baka.' her Inner self told her, 'When you call an arrogant prince a spoiled brat, they tend to be offended!' But Sakura was honestly more worried that he might mistake that for simple ignorance, and ask for another team, or at least another kunoichi, to escort him.

But he didn't. "I mean, you are not like most women I know. Most of who are shallow, foolish, selfish, self-centered women who would grovel at my feet. But you, you actually dared to tell me right to my face that I'm a spoiled brat, without any fear of the consequences. You didn't care that I was a prince, you saw me acting childishly and you called me out on it. And...I admire you for that, Sakura-san. One should expect great knowledge and bravery from someone who is beautiful."

Okay, Sakura was _definitely_ not expecting that. She imagine the worst, him calling her a weak kunoichi and sending her back, ruining hers and Team Seven's reputation forever, maybe a slap on the wrist but thinking of her as an incompetant fool for the rest of the mission, but never would she have imagined him to _compliment_ her, much less call her beautiful. Now, many people could not understand why Haruno Sakura didn't think she was beautiful. Maybe it's because Sakura was rarely one to flirt with guys. If she was, she'd hear everyday of how beautiful she was. But she always seemed to be preoccupied. Whether it was missions or shifts at the hospital. And if it wasn't that, her team scared her a bit. Who wants to go out with a girl who has over-protective teammates, which included a Jinchuuriki and an Uchiha, and digging a bit deeper, an ex-ROOT member and the Copy Nin? And the only ones who were 'brave' (or foolish) enough to take the challenge and ask her out were weirdos (...Lee) that she turned down.

But she's heard very few compliments on her looks in her life. But everytime someone complimented her, be they someone who she liked or not, she always, always felt embarassed. Which is probably why she did something neither Naruto nor Sasuke has seen her do in a long time.

She blushed.

She bit her inner cheek, knowing the blush was visible. But that didn't help. Her blush nearly matched her pink hair. Naruto's eyes widened, 'Sakura-chan never, ever blushes anymore!' he thought.

Ranmaru smirked, satisfied he got the reaction he was looking for, "Now, I believe you asked for more time to pack. I shall be waiting in my carriage, outside the Konoha gates." he informed her.

Sakura was such in a hurry to get away, she wasn't thinking straight, "Um, right, well, I guess I better go. Sasuke-kun, Naruto, you can take the prince to his carriage, right? Okay, thanks!" she said, before giving a sheepish smile and running off to her appartment. She felt bad about dumping the prince on Naruto and Sasuke, though.

But as she sprinted to her house, Sakura couldn't help but feel a bit...well, sad. She was positive everyone noticed her blush. Ranmaru smirked, Naruro was shocked and Sasuke...well, Sasuke didn't seem to care. He barely moved an inch. Which threw Sakura completely off. She knew Sasuke wasn't exactly going to act like Naruto, but given the display he showed the night she announced she was going to date, she had expected him to show something. But he didn't do or say anything. Sakura sighed, _'This dating thing may be the best idea ever,'_ she thought,_ 'because maybe, just maybe, with a little hope, I might be able to get over you, Sasuke-kun.'_

But she was completely wrong if she thought Sasuke didn't care. Oh, no, he didn't react for one simple reason. He was Sasuke Uchiha, therefore he analyzed things like the back of his hand and in the speed of light before doing anything. He also knew Sakura like the back of his hand. And had Naruto took the time Sasuke did to analyze the whole thing, he would have, too, understood that Sakura's blush was not related to any hint of attraction, but of embarassment. So Sasuke didn't react because he knew he didn't have to.

Although, when Sakura left, Sasuke felt annoyed at Ranmaru's continuing smirk.

But apparently, so did Naruto, and he didn't make any effort to hide it, "Hey, Ladyface, don't think that just because Sakura-chan blushed, it means she likes you!"

"Whatever do you mean, shinobi?" Ranmaru asked innocently.

"Oh, please! You think you're hot stuff just because you made her blush! Well, guess what? Sakura doesn't like you! She's just doing her job, that's why she didn't punch you when you said me and the teme were beneath you!" Naruto said.

"Well, if that was the case, Uzumaki-san..." Ranmaru said, and Sasuke could have sworn Ranmaru was still keeping up with his 'I respect you' act, "Why did Sakura-san blush when I complimented her?"

Naruto was at a lost for words. He knew _why_ Sakura blushed, he just...couldn't explain it.

"Uh...Um...W-Well, she, uh...um..." Naruto stuttered.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and figured he should save the dobe before his brain explodes from overthinking, "Being a medic-nin and a kunoichi means she's constantly on the clock, meaning she rarely hears compliments. So when she does hear them, she doesn't believe them. Meaning the only reason she blushed is because she did it out of embarassment."

"Oh, really? Perhaps you are right, but then again, you are not Sakura-san herself, are you? You wouldn't know how she felt about the situation in the first place." Ranmaru reasoned.

Sasuke scoffed, "Tch, you really think Sakura would hide her emotions from her teammates, who she trusts with her very life? Obviously, you would be very foolish to think so. As her teammates, we have known her all our life and would know if she was interested in someone. And I can safely say that you are not any more special to her than any other men she had to protect. Like the dobe said, she was just doing her job."

Naruto blinked. So today has been pretty confusing for him, and it was only, like, seven AM. But this had to be the most confusing so far. For one, this is the first time Sasuke's talked so much to anyone else other than him or Sakura. And...Sasuke seems suspicously defensive about Sakura. It was like the more Ranmaru said things about her, the more Sasuke was quick to deny it and give a detailed explination to why Ranmaru was wrong.

"Besides, do you really think it's professional for a prince to praise a kunoichi just because he has a crush on her?" Sasuke added.

Naruto was surprised Sasuke had actually said it out loud. It seemed like Sasuke was trying to corner Ranmaru until he couldn't speak anymore, and he was doing a pretty good job at it.

"...It seems we will never reach an end to this argument, so I will be the mature one and stop it now, because I won't dignify that question with an answer." Ranmaru merely said.

_'...Did he just give up, but with using a lot of big words?'_ Naruto wondered with a sweatdrop.

"Hn." Sasuke replied, but in his mind, he was thinking, 'Weaseling his way out of the argument...The coward's way out.' He tried not to shake his head in disappointment. He expected more from a so-called prince.

* * *

><p>"...And then he ended up practically calling me beautiful." Sakura explained to Hinata.<p>

After grabbing her things, Sakura ran into Hinata, and figured she might as well come along and say goodbye to Naruto. Plus, she needed the girl talk. She wouldn't have any for a while, and Hinata seemed to be the 'voice of reason' among the Konoha Kunoichi. Sakura often went to her friends when it came to relationships, and Ino and Tenten's advice were always far-fetched and extreme. Sakura liked Hinata because she knew she could trust her. She had gotten close to Hinata as she and Naruto began to go out, too.

"W-Well, Sakura-chan, it seems like he does have a c-crush on you.." Hinata said.

"That's what I was afraid of." Sakura muttered bleakly, "I'm afraid he'll take that blush as a sign that I actually return his feelings."

"D-Do you?" Hinata asked.

"Of course not!" Sakura exclaimed, "It's the opposite actually. I think he's a spoiled brat, obviously. But if he does have a crush on me, what do I do? I mean, I'll be guarding him and all...and I don't want it to be awkward."

"J-Just stay with N-Naruto-kun and S-Sasuke. H-He won't flirt w-with you if they're around." Hinata suggested.

"Would be a good idea...except he already called me beautiful in front of them." Sakura sighed, cringing at the memory. She didn't mind being complimented, but when it's by someone like the prince, who moments before, insulted her best friends, it made her feel, well, disgusted.

"And what was his r-reaction?" Hinata asked.

"Well, actually, I left before they could say anything. But Naruto was shocked. Ranmaru-san seems to be proud of himself because he made me blush..." Sakura recalled.

"Sakura-chan...I w-wasn't talking about t-them..." Hinata smiled softly, while slightly tilting her head. Sakura imagined this was Hinata's version of a sly grin.

"Sasuke-kun? He didn't do anything, as expected." Sakura said, the disappointment from earlier found its way back as she said those words. "I imagine he doesn't care."

"That's where I believe you're wrong, Sakura-chan." Hinata told her. In reality, Hinata believed in Sakura and Sasuke like a fairytale. Why, she had no clue. Maybe it was because her boyfriend has spoken so much of them, and Hinata has seen so much of their actions towards one another, or that Hinata believed Sakura was a lot like her. Years ago, Hinata had tried to forget Naruto, believing he would never figure out she had feelings for him, and if he did, he would never return them. But things turned out grest for Hinata, and she wanted the same for her friend. After all, it was because of Sakura's pep talk that Hinata finally told Naruto about her feelings.

This caught Sakura's interest. Hinata didn't stutter this time. The rare times that Hinata didn't stutter were times when she was absolutely sure of herself. Being Hinata, she rarely had confidence in herself, so she was almost never sure. But Sakura wondered how can Hinata be so sure about such a thing. "Really? How so?"

"W-Well...Naruto-kun told me t-that Sasuke has f-feelings for you. A-And he sounds pretty sure." Hinata answered.

"Yeah, but this is Naruto we're talking about. He believes anything even when there's proof it's not true." Sakura said with a sad smile. Oh, how she just wished it were true.

"Y-Yes, but apparently, S-Sasuke has this t-thing he does, a h-habit, whenever they t-talk about you. N-Naruto-kun calls it Sasuke's version of a b-blush." Hinata explained.

Sakura was confused. She had never noticed any 'habits' of Sasuke's, and Naruto, of all people, did. It was a bit strange. "I think maybe Naruto's exaggerating. Maybe it means something else." Sakura said.

"D-Do you really b-believe that?" Hinata asked.

Sakura sighed, and stopped in her tracks. _'Of course, who better than a Byakugan user to see through me?'_ Sakura thought dryly. Hinata stopped as well with concern. With a solemn look, Sakura looked at Hinata, "Hinata-chan...the truth is, I do believe it. And I want to. I don't want anything getting my hopes up about Sasuke-kun. Because...I still love him." Sakura admitted. Another reason why she liked Hinata so much is because she could tell her things she couldn't tell Ino or Tenten. Granted, they both knew she was still in love with him, but Sakura knew she could never bring herself to say it out loud to anyone, except maybe Naruto. "And anything that keeps my hopes up any higher is going to ruin my chances of dating like a normal girl."

"I understand, S-Sakura-chan...B-But I just want you to be h-happy. And k-know that y-you shouldn't give up, b-because it would be a shame that while S-Sasuke is finally realizing his f-feelings, you are forgetting y-yours." Hinata said.

"Maybe I'll never be completely over Sasuke-kun. But I have to try...I have to, for my sake. It sounds selfish...but I have to." Sakura told her.

Hinata smiled, "N-No one could ever c-call you selfish, S-Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled back as they continued walking. But in reality, if there was ever a chance Sasuke would return her feelings, Sakura would have forgotten that dating idea in a second. But Sakura knew there was no chance of that happening, so with a sad smile on her face, she vowed to move on. She has done many extraordinary things in the past, and while getting over Uchiha Sasuke might be the hardest, she could do it. But the truth is that no matter how hard she will try to get over him, there was a small part of jer that would never let go. _'That's probably what hurts the most...'_ Sakura thoughy sadly.

Then a sudden realization hit her, and she quickly turned to Hinata, "Ne, Hinata-chan, could you make sure Kakashi-sensei doesn't find out about the prince?"

Hinata opened her mouth to answer, but before she could even make a noise, Sakura sensed someone jumping behind them. They both did, and both immediately turned around, grabbing their kunais.

"Find out about what?" Kakashi asked, his arms crossed and looking at the two kunoichi suspiciously.

* * *

><p>It wasn't uncommon for Kakashi, the legendary 'Copy Nin' to suddenly get overprotective over his ex-student. Everyone in Konoha, and probably Suna, knew about it. But they never asked why. In fact, they never asked why the shinobi of Team Seven were so protective of their only kunoichi. The truth is, they had similar but different reasons. They all cared too much for her. It was as plain and simple as that. But all in different ways. While Sai (who was currently on a mission) and Naruto might have thought of her as a sister, and as Kakashi suspects, Sasuke might think of her as something more, Kakashi saw Sakura like a daughter. Yes, behind that perverted persona, Kakashi did have that fatherly instinct to him. He would never admit this to anyone, but his dream, other than being a ninja, became to have a child. A child he could somehow teach all his secret techniques to.<p>

Sasuke used to be that child, even Naruto at some point. But when Sakura had yelled at him that day when she asked Tsunade to train her, Kakashi knew he had done her wrong. So he did his best. Approaching her after that day was not easy. But he did. By taking baby steps. Little encouragements during her training, giving her new explosive tags (which she seemed scarily fond of), an apologetic smile if he crossed her...then gradually, after a few months (yes months, he was, too, surprised at how long his 'sweet' student could hold a grudge) they were able to talk to each other again without any bitter hatred. After Naruto's return, he began to train her again.

But what really started off his protectiveness was the look in Sakura's eyes when she yelled at him. Hurt, anger, betrayal, frustration, all were seen just by looking into her eyes. And Kakashi caused that. Those eyes, which were once so full of life and happiness, seemed to be filled with every negative emotions tossed together, and later proved to be in Kakashi's nightmares. And from then on, Kakashi wanted to make sure no one, and he really, truly meant, _no one_, would cause her eyes to show those emotions ever again.

So he got a little carried away. Well, really carried away. But hey, Naruto and Sai weren't so innocent either. They could say whatever they wanted, but Kakashi KNOWS for a FACT that it was them who scared the last decent guy (was his name Kyohei? Or Tamahome? Or Shun?) last year into never asking Sakura out again. The proof was in the words he said in the hospital, mumbling something about foxes, ink animals and 'believe it'. And Sasuke, well, he could deny it all he wanted, but Kakashi sensed something he never did before in Sasuke when Sakura announced she was dating. It was anger, which was odd for the Uchiha. It was surprise, worry, disappointment and...dare he say it? Sadness?

Or Kakashi could be wrong. He did have some sake that night, after all. But he could usually hold three glasses.

But anyways, due to his overprotectiveness and after hearing what Sakura and Hinata were talking about...he practically forced them to bring him to this Ranmaru guy.

But when they got there, it all went straight to hell.

At first glance, Sakura, Kakashi and Hinata dropped their jaws. _This_ was the carriage they were using? The thing was gigantic, colorful and encrusted with diamonds! It was a recipe for disaster! They would attract every ninja on the way, regardless of which road they would take! Sakura was about to say something on the matter, until Sasuke stopped her, giving her a certain look, then slightly shrugged. Sakura sighed. With the look Sasuke gave, he clearly meant that he had already tried reasoning with Ranmaru to change the carriage, but obviously failed.

"HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto yelled as he saw his girlfriend, then proceeded to running to her to hug her, then accidentally knocking her on the floor.

"Baka, you're killing her!" Sakura yelled.

"Sorry, Hinata-chan! I was just REALLY glad you're here!" Naruto exclaimed sheepishly. Hinata gave a light pink blush, "T-That's okay, Naruto-kun..."

Naruto's grin got bigger as he, once again, wrapprd his arms around Hinata and gave her a tight hug. Hinata smiled, he was just so imposisbly sweet! After a moment, though, naturally, Naruto let go, but kept an arm around Hinata, "Hey, Hinata-chan, see Ladyface over there? He doesn't believe I have a hot girlfriend!"

Hinata's eyes widened and once again, she blushed and bit her lip. "'L-Ladyface?" she asked.

"I believe he is referring to me, though I am not called Ladyface, I am Prince Ranmaru Hotohori." Ranmaru introduced himself proudly.

"Oh! I am Hinata H-Hyuga, Your H-Highness, and it is very n-nice to meet you..." Hinata said shyly as she gave a bow. She tried her best not to stutter, but obviously it failed.

Ranmaru eyed Hinata from up to down, "Hm...I may say, I'm puzzled. What is a fine, beautiful, respectful Hyuuga doing with a mentally inbalanced boy like Uzumaki Naruto?"

Hinata frowned, and made it clear she disliked Ranmaru. Odd, since Naruto never saw Hinata dislike anything or anyone. "I d-don't think N-Naruto-kun is a fool..."

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Naruto exclaimed, holding a finger up, "I told you not to touch Hina-chan, Ladyface! She's my girlfriend, get your own!"

And at that very moment, Kakashi could have sworn he saw Ranmaru's eyes shift for a split second to Sakura's direction, but he knew he could never prove it. Nevertheless, he already knew the guy was trouble. Ranmaru didn't answer Naruto, though it was clear that even though he might have respected Hinata, he didn't actually care much for her. Instead, he looked at Kakashi, and smiled, "Ah, the legendary Copy-Nin, I presume?"

"Your Highness..." Kakashi greeted. Kami, how he hated talking to superiors. He had to be all polite and careful with the words he says.

"I wonder if you can tell me, being their teacher and all, if Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke are actually qualified to escort me to my hometown?" Ranmaru asked.

Sakura glared. After her little speech, you'd think he'd finally get that Sakura hated it when other people said anything remotely bad about Naruto or Sasuke.

"Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura are perfectly capable of escorting you, Your Highness. They have done missions more dangerous than this before." Kakashi answered. He honestly didn't know what was it about this kid that made Kakashi wanna Raikiri his butt back to wherever he came from. And from the looks of it, it wasn't just him. Both his team and Hinata seemed to dislike him. Was it just a certain quality he possessed? And to think, Kakashi kept hearing on and on about how 'charming' this prince was...

"Oh, I did not ask about Sakura-san. I know that she can escort me without even breaking a sweat." Ranmaru smiled innocently. Great, now, he apparently favored Sakura, too. It was as if he was _trying_ to get Kakashi to hate him. "It was nice meeting you, but I believe we have already been delayed enough, and should get going."

"Aw, but I don't want to leave Hinata-chan yet!" Naruto whined, hugging Hinata tighter.

"N-Naruto-kun, as much as I'd l-like you to s-stay, you have to g-go." Hinata said, though she didn't want him to leave any more than he did.

"You're right..." Naruto sighed disappointedly, loosening his grip on Hinata.

"Well, we'll see you in a couple of days, Kakashi-sensei, Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled playfully as both she and Sasuke began to walk to the front of the carriage.

But Ranmaru stopped them. "Excuse me, where are you going?" he asked.

"To drive the carriage? The horses are that way." Sakura answered, pointing to the front of the carriage.

"I believe you should stay inside with me, Sakura-san." Ranmaru said, "Uzumaki and Uchiha are perfectly capable of driving the carriage themselves, surely you cannot walk behind."

"Naruto's going to stay in with you, Ranmaru-san. I have to help Sasuke drive the carriage and read the map." Sakura explained, getting a little tired of Ranmaru.

"Uzumaki? I refuse to have him sit with me for almost two days. I believe you are a far better candidate than him. Or Uchiha, for that matter." Ranmaru answered.

_'This is a prince, this is a prince, if you hurt him, you can die, so calm down...'_ Kakashi reminded himself. Taking a deep breath, he chose his words carefully before he spoke, "With all due respect, Your Highness, Naruto is just as good of a protector as Sakura is."

"Maybe. But I would prefer that Sakura-san stay with me. She is far more interesting than these two, and I believe she's more entertaining as well. She's obviously the better choice." Ranmaru said.

Sakura rolled her eyes, Hinata mentally called him rude, Naruto opened his mouth, about to accuse Ranmaru of saying that just because he has the hots for her, Kakashi's eyes widened in annoyance, and Sasuke was surprisingly the first to speak out.

He quickly threw his bag to the ground in frustration, which surprised everyone. He was just so annoyed with everything that was happening, and marched right up to Ranmaru, glaring at him. "She's not toy. She's not here for your amusement or your entertainment. If you wanted entertainment, you should have hired clowns, not ninjas." Sasuke glared at Ranmaru, "And it's truly pathetic that you make up excuses to be near Sakura. True princes don't let their affections for someone interfere with anything."

Ranmaru can't say he was fearless in front of the Uchiha. After all, the man nearly killed him less than an hour ago. But still, Ranmaru held his head up high. It was hard showing authority to someone who was just as tall as you. But with an unphased look, Ranmaru danced with the devil and looked into Sasuke's angry eyes, "Be careful, Uchiha. Remember your position, and mine. I could take everything you ever worked for in a second."

Sasuke's glare got even more intense, challenging Ranmaru to do his worse. Both Sakura and Naruto picked up the vibe, but it was Sakura who picked it up first, then acted first, "Okay, listen, how about we do this: we take shifts staying in the carriage. I'll stay in the carriage from mornings to noon, Sasuke-kun will go from noon to the afternoon, and Naruto will stay the afternoon until nighttime." Sakura suggested, "Then, when we stop at night, all three of us stay outside and take the usual night shifts protecting everyone else. Sound good?" Sakura suggested.

Naruto sighed. There was no getting out of this one. "Fine..."

Sasuke didn't answer. Instead he turned his back on Ranmaru and walked away, which everybody knew meant he agreed. He wasn't happy about it, but he agreed.

Reluctantly, Naruto finally let go of Hinata, "I'll be back soon, okay?" he said, before kissing her lips.

Sakura smiled, they were so sweet together. Naruto was so different, quiet and careful around Hinata, something he never was with nyone else. Hinata nodded with a shy smile on her lips. She gave him a final hug before returning to the village.

"See ya, Kaka-sensei!" Naruto yelled. Kakashi rolled his eyes, but smiled underneath mask. "Naruto, be good. Sakura, watch your teammates. And Sasuke..." he started.

Sasuke was a bit annoyed. He's been told a lot today he had to be careful about this mission, knowing the consequences if he messed up, and he didn't feel like hearing at another time. But Kakashi didn't tell him that. Instead, he leaned over in his ear, and whispered, "Take care of Sakura."

Unlike Tsunade, it wasn't a plea or a favor being ask, but more of a warning. Sasuke looked at him in confusion, was there something Tsunade and Kakashi knew that he didn't? Why didn't they tell this to Naruto? Why him?

Whatever the reason, he nodded. After he agreed, Kakashi knew he could sleep at night. Before sending off a final wave to his former students, Kakashi and Hinata went back to the village. As they walked further away, though, the same nerve-wracking feeling that Tsunade had felt came through their stomachs like waves. They both felt like they were making a huge mistake by leaving, but they didn't know why.

"D-Do you...th-think they'll be o-okay?" Hinata asked softly.

"...Yes, yes, they will." Kakashi answered.

He lied.

After Kakashi and Hinata had left, Ranmaru cleared his throat loudly, making Team Seven turn their heads to him, "I believe Sakura-san took the morning shift, right?" he said.

Sakura groaned. She didn't think her plan through, she was just thinking of a way to end the bloodbath that would have taken plce the second time had she not intervened...a second time.

"I'll be waiting." Ranmaru informed as he went ahead in the carriage.

Naruto scoffed, in a 'who does he think he is' fashion. "Ne, Sakura-chan, if he tries anything on you, call me, and I can kick his ass without even trying!"

Sakura smiled, "I'm sure you can...I guess I'll see you guys later." she said.

"Okay! Hey, Teme, dibs on driving the horses!" Naruto exclaimed childishly as he ran to the front of the carriage again. Leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone, Sakura couldn't help but giggle at Naruto and his immaturity.

"What a dobe." Sasuke said.

"Yeah..." Sakura agreed fondly, 'But he's our dobe, ne?' she thought. It felt nuts, it seemed just like yesterday when Sasuke just came back. And here they were, preparing themselves for another surely great adventure.

Sasuke began to follow Naruto. As Sakura watched his back, she knew she had to get it out of her chest, "Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke stopped, and turned around. When they were genin, he would have just slightly turned his head, but still uncaring of what she had to say. Things were different now. He was clearly waiting for her to say something.

"Thank you for...defending me. You know, with Ranmaru." Sakura thanked him.

It might not have been much to Sasuke, but it did mean a lot of Sakura. Sasuke was the type of person who didn't want to waste his breath on anything. And for some reason, Sasuke seemed oddly over-defensive about Sakura, something she appriciated. Though Sasuke didn't know why Sakura thought of it so much, his eyes softened, as they often did today, and his lips formed into a smirk, "Hn." he answered.

_'Of course._' Sakura thought playfully as she let out a chuckle. With that, Sasuke turned back around and Sakura entered the carriage, admittingly with a little bit of nervousness.

As Sasuke sat down beside Naruto in the front seat of the carriage, who was whining about how long he took, Sasuke's nose began twitching violently.

He brushed off his nose, thinking it was just some kind of irritation. Before putting his hand back on his lap, though, he followed by lightly brushing off his collarbone for no reason.


	4. Chapter 4: Sasuke's Answer

Okay, so maybe Sasuke slightly overreacted earlier today. He might have went a little bit too far when he thought he was literally going to kill the prince. So what if he wasn't thinking clearly? So what if, for one second, he ignored the fact that he was risking his very ninja status? What's so bad about that? Well, what's so bad about it is that he was Sasuke Uchiha. He was always focused, thought before he acted and to do otherwise was just unlike him. And during the free time he got driving the carriage, he took the opportunity to figure out exactly why he lost his temper like that. Surely, it was because Ranmaru practically insulted his family, right?

Of course, that doesn't explain why he wanted to punch Ranmaru once again when he treated Sakura like she was some kind of object.

"...You should have seen him! The old man was so high-and-mighty, going all, 'if you can beat me in battle, I will approve of you', so I did, and, okay, he beat me up, but I came back the next day, and demanded a rematch, and I won! And that, Sasuke-teme, is how I won the approval of Hiashi 'Stick-Up-His-Butt' Hyuuga!" Naruto told. As he did, he kept on waving and flailing his arms around to emphasize the story. But when he turned to the Uchiha, he remained as stoic and as bored as he was before they left.

"Hey! Teme! Were you listening to me?" Naruto yelled into his ear. Sasuke was tempted to smack him in the back of his head, but focused on the road.

"No." Sasuke answered bluntly, his eyes not leaving what was in front of him. Naruto yelled in fraustration, "You are going to listen to this story until you memorize it!"

"I did memorize it." Sasuke said with annoyance, "And you're supposed to be reading the map, not telling me stories."

"No, I wasn't! I was supposed to drive the horses, but you won't let me!" Naruto protested.

"Because you scare them." Sasuke said, which was true. Before they had started the trip, Naruto attempted to drive the horses. But his loud demeanor caused the horses to fear him and they both began kicking backwards and one of them actually successfully hit Naruto in the face, marking a lovely and visible-from-Suna horse-shoe shape on his cheek. "Now shut up and read the map...or at least try to read."

"Man, teme, you're being grouchier than usual! What's with you? Do you have your man-period or something?" Naruto asked sarcastically, but waiting for an answer. But the Uchiha merely half-rolled his eyes. As usual, Naruto was over-analyzing things.

"Hn." he answered, no more complicated than that barely-even-a-word sentence.

"Pff..." Naruto pouted childishly as he crossed his arms. He stared blankly at the view for a while, though to others it might have looked like he was glaring at the scenery for no reason, but this kept him quiet. Such a rare gift, so Sasuke took advantage of the few seconds of silence before Naruto would spew out something else. But then, it quickly hit Naruto faster than Sasuke's shurikens hit him earlier.

"Oh...I get it! You're jealous of Ladyface, aren't you?" Naruto grinned. Sasuke didn't answer, but merely sighed in annoyance, hoping the dobe would catch the hint that he just simply wasn't in the mood for Naruto's childishness. But Naruto took this as a sign that Sasuke was basically admitting his jealousy. "I knew it! I knew there was some tension in the air with you and Ladyface, and that little debate you had going on with him over her, you were so protective of Sakura-chan! And now, Ladyface is spending all this time with Sakura-chan, and you're all mopey...well, mopier and grouchier than usual because of it!"

"Just shut up, dobe. You're hurting my ears. And the horses'." Sasuke added. As usual, he said it so montonely that Naruto could barely tell if Sasuke was changing the subject because it annoyed him or because it was getting too close to the truth. Naruto rolled his eyes, "Hey, Teme, seriously speaking, do you love Sakura-chan?"

"I don't hate her." Sasuke answered. As he said before, there was no denying him and Sakura being...friends (even after all this time, that word felt strange and foreign on his tongue).

"No, I mean...do you love her like I love Hina-chan?" Naruto asked, but quickly put his finger up, "And do not tell me you love her like I love her, because I love her like a sister. And if you loved her the same way, I would know."

"I don't love Sakura. Happy?" Sasuke said. And he was telling the truth...at least, he thought he was.

"Yeah, right. You know what I think? I think-"

"Don't think. When you do, bad things happen." Sasuke said.

"Hardy har har, very funny, teme. But since you came back last year, either you found out you had feelings for Sakura-chan all along, or as the days went by, you started to have feelings, but you're afraid of what's gonna happen! You think you went too far for you and Sakura-chan to ever be together now, and now that Ladyface is showing up, your feelings are starting to show! And believe me, teme, one day, all of the feelings you've been hiding are gonna build up and explode faster than an explosive tag!" Naruto promised him. On a side note, Naruto's stomach grumbled. Not out of hunger. Strange. But Naruto didn't think more of it.

But Sasuke shook his head. The dobe's never been right about relationships before. Why would he be right now? For Kami's sake, this is the same guy who said that Anko and Kakashi would start dating each other. So he paid no attention to Naruto's words.

But he should have. Because as he began to remember that Uzumaki Naruto was never right, somewhere in Konoha, Kakashi was building up the courage to finally ask Anko out.

* * *

><p><em>With Sakura and Ranmaru<em>

"...And so, after the age of seven, my tutor claimed that I was his best student, academically and physically. He had taught me seven different ways to kill a man, it is highly impressive, and even practically equal to a ninja's skills. During that time, I had also had my first formal gathering with other royals from all the Hidden Leaves, and they claimed that for a seven year old, I was probably the wisest and most mature child they had ever met. They have met my brother and sister, and despite the fact that my brother is older, they said that I was far more fit to be king than he was. Of course, he was meant to be king, but he declined the throne and I gladly accepted. My younger sister, what a foolish girl, no older than fourteen or fifteen, actually thought she could take the throne. But a woman ruling a place as extravagant as Tsukigakure? I think not. And however, she argued, but I, of course was right in the end and then..." Ranmaru droned on. And on and on and on.

It had been merely an hour since they left Konoha. But as Ranmaru insisted on making conversation, the hour seemed to stretch into days for Sakura. Sakura tried her best to act like she was interested and nodded along, occasionally making some absent-minded remarks or questions. This seemed to please Ranmaru, for he was talking about his favorite subject: himself. But in all honesty, Sakua was not impress. The 'tutor' that claimed that he was his best student probably didn't have many students to begin with. And if this tutor was a normal villager, which Sakura would have bet every penny she had that he was, he would know that the 'seven different ways to kill a man' was just child's play told to villagers, passed on from kids to kids, no more real than the White Lady tale itself and it wouldn't actually help you kill anyone. He was totally sexist. Though Sakura understood why his sister couldn't actually take the throne, being the youngest sibling, Ranmaru made it clear he was one of the men who believed women belonged in a kitchen (which Sakura can honestly say is not true, because she admits that she, herself, couldn't cook to save her life). She didn't like to say it, even in her head, because she tried so hard not to judge others anymore, but this man was about as interesting as a wet carrot.

Sakura wanted nothing more than to sleep, something she's been lacking lately. She's never been good at taking care of herself these days. But the last thing Sakura wanted was to fall asleep with a man who obviously had a crush on her. Kami knows what _that_would lead to.

"So in short, I practically re-invented the meaning. I must say, even I find it rather impressive. I really should go down as a historical figure, wouldn't you agree?" Ranmaru said.

Sakura mentally cringed. The ego this man possessed! It was unbelievably, really. Sakura went even as far as comparing Ino's ego with Ranmaru! Ino! The most egoistic person she's ever met! But even Ino recognized and acknowledged her flaws. Ranmaru seemed to believe that he literally didn't have any flaws. Mentally inhaling, Sakura quickly responded with a lie, "Yes, of course..."

Ranmaru smiled in satisfaction, thinking Sakura actually cared about what he said. But then again, don't all people? At least, to him. Suddenly, a sudden thought flashed in his brain out of nowhere, like lightning. And just like that, Ranmaru had stopped talking about himself and asked a question he once asked to himself for a while, "If I may, Sakura-san...what did you do during the Great Akatsuki Deaths?"

Sakura was puzzled. She expected him to keep talking about himself, not talk aboht her. Nevertheless, she was still confused about what he meant by that. "I'm, uh, sorry, Your Highness, but I don't understand the question."

"The Great Akatsuki Deaths. Rumors are there were two Konoha ninjas after them, but then they came back with three. I assume the third member is the ex-criminal Uchiha. But Uchiha's been a missing nin for a long time. Countless ninjas all over the world have tried to get him back, but none prevailed. Even your blonde loudmouth tried, and failed. And you once tried to kill him, as vice versa, but you both failed." Ranmaru explained.

Sakura's chest tightened. She wished Ranmaru wouldn't have brought up the fact that they had all tried to kill each other. That they once looked at each other with pure hatred and rage and would have killed each other without a second thought, their rational thoughts blinded with ideas of revenge. 'But we're not like that anymore...' Sakura thought softly to herself. She sounded like a woman who was constantly beaten by her husband, but kept telling herself that it would never happen again. Except in this case, it was true. They weren't like that. Now they would all rather die in each other's places than to see the other hurt. Sure, most childhood teams usually split up and never even bother talking to each other. That's how it's always been for most ninjas. But they were different. After all this time, they were still as close as they were when they were twelve, it was as if nothing had happened.

"I'm confused as to how people could go from attempting to kill the other, to saving and joining the other again. Word is one of you did something in that desert that changed the Uchiha's mind in a flash. And I imagine it couldn't have been ordinary. So what was it?" he asked.

Sakura smiled softly to herself as she remembered the answer to his question. The exact scene, words, atmosphere, smell and taste were still there, as if it were yesterday. So many have asked that question. 'What exactly did Haruno Sakura do to get Team Seven back together?' No one really knew the answer. For those who were her close friends, they asked it once but when they all refused to answer, they gave up. They all knew how good Team Seven is at keeping secrets, the important ones at least. Even Ino Yamanaka gave it up. And knowing Ino, who can't stand NOT knowing anything due to being Konoha's gossip monger, Sakura reckoned they were pretty damn impressive. For others, such as civilians and children, it became a topic frequently talked about over a cup of tea or during recess. Numerous speculations about what had happened were thrown around.

But it was silly, really. The answer was so simple and not as dramatic as they say..

"Sakura Haruno confessed her love for him so he came back!" was a child's speculation, which Sakura found hilarious. Sasuke was already perfectly aware of her love for him. That wasn't what made him come back. Funny enough, the answer was so simple, yet so complicated at the same time. It was cliché, predictable and not as epic as others made it out to be. Or maybe it was, but not in her eyes. She only did what she would have done with anybody had they been in her situation...

But there was an unspoken pact between Team Seven to keep that little tidbit a secret. Sakura only kept it a secret for two reasons. One, because she knew she didn't need any more gossip about her and two, because Tsunade might kill her for doing something she practically forbade her from doing.

But hey. Why teach someone something if all you're gonna do is forbid them from using it? It might have been the first time Sakura deliberately defied Tsunade's orders, but she liked to think it was for a good cause. After all, things worked out in the end, right? Konoha was finally safe from the Akatsuki's clutches after years of good ninjas dying to end Akatsuki, Tsunade didn't have as much paperwork as she used to, kids can finally sleep at night without having to worry about waking up in the middle of the night due to a surprise enemy attack because, well, it was hard to be enemies with the village who had the three legendary ninjas who killed every village's common enemy. And most importantly, Team Seven was back together.

And maybe, in a couple of years time, Sakura might sit down and tell everyone how exactly it happened. She'd earn a giggle or two by how disappointed they must have been from her story's lack of action, but, oh well...for now, when the Great Akatsuki Deaths was still at the height of its peak of popularity, she'd rather keep it quiet for now.

"Nothing that special happened, really...I know a lot of the villagers and children love to make up silly stories and speculations of it, but he just came back because there was no other reason for him not to." Sakura lied. And she's told this lie so many times that if she didn't know any better, she might have truly actually believed it herself.

"Really? Well, that seems odd. People have made such a big fuss about it that I actually began to believe it was some sort of explination that would have looked like it was derived from a fairytale book...Oh, well. Seems like a disappointment for it to be so plain and ordinary." Ranmaru scoffed arrogantly.

Well, that's actually not saying much. Everything that Ranmaru has done so far has been done in an arrogant fashion.

Suddenly, the carriage stopped, to Sakura's extreme delight. She had to keep herself from squealing happily. It meant that her shift was FINALLY over.

"Oh, now why have we stopped? Has the idiot's voice caused the horses to kill themseves?" Ranmaru said, with a whining undertone.

Sakura kept herself from rolling her eyes. Arrogant, spoiled, selfish and childish. Yep. Prince Hotohori Ranmaru certainly is a keeper.

But she had to admit. No matter how happy she was that her shift was over, she was extremely worried when Sasuke opened the door. Sakura suddenly realized, in horror, that it was now Sasuke's shift. He came in, looking obviously annoyed. Probably at something Naruto might have said, Sakura suspected. Sasuke already hated Ranmaru to begin with. Now he was ticked off, with a person he hated and Ranmaru will surely say something to make Sasuke snap. Now, don't get her wrong. Sakura couldn't care less if Sasuke had knocked Ranmaru out for hours and, heck, for even the whole trip, but she wanted Sasuke to become a fulltime trustworthy ninja again. She wanted the villagers to stop whispering behind his back. She wanted the kids to approach Sasuke the same way they approached her and Naruto, with admiration, not with fear. She wanted the other countries to recognize Sasuke as one of the legendary ninjas from Team Seven, and not as the 'traitor ninja from Team Seven'. In short, she wanted so much for him than he can imagine. But in order for all those things to happen, Sasuke had to calm down and maintain a certain new reputation. Earn the people's trust.

Which was something he certainly wasn't going to do if he somewhat killed the Prince of Tsukigakure.

And the fact that Konoha was currently in hot water with practially all of the Hidden Villages didn't help. Accepting a wanted criminal into one's village takes its toll. It gave Konoha a bad reputation. Sasuke's just lucky he's a REALLY good ninja, or else Tsunade wouldn't have bothered.

So Sakura gave him a look that was only usually reserved for Naruto. A look that clearly said, 'don't do anything stupid'. He raised his eyebrow at her. He kept forgetting that Sakura no longer played favorites with him and Naruto as she did in the past, and treated them both equally now. Meaning she was now able to call Sasuke 'an idiot', correct him and yes, even punch him (he just knew she wanted to do that for a long time).

"Ah, the Uchiha. Surely, your company won't be as welcoming as Sakura-san's, but I suppose you'll have to do." Ranmaru said in an unimpressed tone. Him. Unimpressed. In front of the man who killed Uchiha Madara.

But no matter. It seemed like Ranmaru was testing Sasuke as he ignored the glare Sasuke was giving to him and turned to Sakura for a brief moment, "It was lovely to converse with you, Sakura-san."

''Converse'? '_Converse_'?' Sakura thought, "All you did was talk and talk about yourself and I was just sitting there and nodding!"

But, of course, she didn't voice her opinions. Instead, she gave an obviously fake smile (at least, obvious to Sasuke) and nodded, "You too, Your Highness. And I'm sure you'll find Sasuke can be very pleasant to be around." she answered as she turned around and left. Sasuke scoffed. The woman couldn't get out of there fast enough. He could have sworn he saw her skipping in joy as she left. 'That bad, huh?' Sasuke asked himself. Kami knows if Sakura wanted to strangle him, Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance.

But he couldn't help but notice something. Ranmaru obviously favored Sakura, which Sasuke guessed was due to his attraction to her. But she didn't seem to revel in this favoritism. For example, an hour ago, Ranmaru had told Sakura he could call her by his first name, but she kept calling him 'Your Highness'. Or when Ranmaru complimented her but insulted him and Naruto, she wouldn't take it. So she didn't like the attention she was getting.

But Sasuke wasn't sure exactly what he found more irritating. The fact that he was stuck with the Prince for a LONG time or the fact the had his eyes on Sakura.

"So, Uchiha, let me tell you the heroic story of how I saved a pesant's withered garden..." Prince Ranmaru began.

Sasuke began to think maybe it was the first one...

* * *

><p><em>With Sakura and Naruto<em>

"Naruto, for the last time, he is not a girl hiding his boobs with duct tape!" Sakura said, trying to convince him. This time, for the safety of others, Sakura was driving _and_reading the map, something she wasn't too fond of, but if she left the map-reading up to Naruto, then it might take a whole year to get to Tsuki.

"Are you sure? Because with a face and clothes like that, you can't help but wonder..." Naruto suggested, "I mean, geez, when I saw him and I saw the color of his clothes, I was thinking..."

Sakura laughed. This is why she loved Naruto. No matter how worried or how bad things seemed, that idiot could always make her smile. Well, then again, there was not one person Naruto couldn't get a smile out of.

And, well, Naruto did have a point.

"I'll have you know that the Prince, no matter how annoyingly self-centered he is, is very popular among the ladies. So don't underestimate his looks." Sakura said. Not to defend the Prince, more to annoy Naruto.

"Why? Do _you_think he's attractive?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

Sakura shook her head while giving a sarcastic chuckle, "Naruto, please, give me more credit." she scoffed, "If I was a shallow Genin again, I might be in love with the guy. Fortunately, I take personality more into consideration these days."

Naruto pondered a while on her words. She said as a Genin, she didn't care for personality. Like most Genin girls, she was a sucker for the looks. But thankfully, Naruto knew she was the first of the Genin to mature out of that thought. But then again, if she takes personality into consideration now...did it mean her crush on Sasuke faded...and it became actual love?

Naruto didn't dare ask her so directly...but he will in a sneakier way.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, did you notice how Ladyface seems to have a little crush on you?" Naruto said, playfully nudging her.

"So? I told you, I'm not interested either way. He's vain, selfish, shallow and conceded. I wouldn't go out with him if the very existence of humanity depended on it." Sakura laughed.

"Good! Because, well, I don't want _you_to marry him. You deserve so much better! And for what it's worth, I don't think Teme wants you to marry him, either." Naruto added, hinting on his suspicions.

"Are you kidding? Sasuke would probably love to see me shipped off to Tsuki and live with Ranmaru-san. I'd be out of his hair for good." Sakura smiled, though it was obvious even to the biggest fool that she said this with pain.

"Sakura-chan! You know that's not true! There's only three things Teme cares about in this world! You, me, and possibly tomatoes. In fact, I think you being with Ranmaru is one of the last things he wants! Ever!" Naruto insisted, "Didn't you see the way he reacted when Ranmaru wanted you to stay with him? Come on, Sakura-chan, even you have to admit Teme might have stronger feelings for you than you thought!"

"Naruto, please!" Sakura interrupted, "You know I'm going to start dating. And we both know why...it's to get rid of my feelings for him. Sasuke will always have a place in my heart. But now, I'm trying to put his place up on your level. I literally couldn't live without either one of you, but I have to believe our relationship is strictly platonic. It's not fair to me or him if I keep hanging on to these old feelings."

Naruto sighed. Oh, he knew why Sakura decided to start dating. But he was honestly hoping he would be wrong. On one hand, she's right. It wouldn't be fair to her or Sasuke if she held onto her feelings. On the other hand, it looks like Sasuke's feelings are slowly, but surely, changing.

"You know, you don't say 'Sasuke-kun' as much as you used to." Naruto remarked.

"...Yes, well, there's a perfectly valid reason for that." Sakura reminded him.

"Okay. I just don't want you to regret it. I mean, what if Teme's just starting to realize he loves you and at the same time you're trying to forget you love him?" Naruto asked her.

Sakura smiled. But it wasn't a happy smile. It was a desperate smile. Both Hinata and Naruto have said the same thing in different words. Now she worries what might happen if that were true. Now she's having doubts, second thoughts, regrets. She knows this wasn't neither Hinata nor Naruto's intentions. They loved her and they meant well. They just didn't realize what they were saying and how it was affecting her. In truth, Sakura didn't know what she would do if this were the case.

So she smiled, and just passed her answer off as a mere joke, "Then I guess it would make for an amazing and tragically romantic story, wouldn't it?"

* * *

><p><em>With Sasuke and Ranmaru<em>

Sasuke told himself he could do this. He's dealt with annoying people his whole life. But no matter how annoying, he always managed to make it through the day without somehow killing them. Okay, so he hasn't really dealt with anyone that annoying for almost a year. During his, shall we call it, probation, he spent all his time with Naruto and Sakura, who, though he calls annoying out loud, are really the only two he actually cared about. Sure, they annoy him. But in a different way. A good way...if there was ever a good way for being annoying. But either way, spending his time with those two kept him from listening to town gossip and kept him sane and more at peace than he could have ever imagined. So he figured after not dealing with annoyance for a year, dealing with annoying people again would prove to be a challenge.

But he didn't know it was _this_big of a challenge.

Seriously, Sasuke would consider the Chuunin Exams less of a challenge than hanging out with this 'Prince'. At least he could take his anger out on the Chuunin Exams. He couldn't lay a finger on Ranmaru, and he knew it. Oh, how he knew it...and knew how to take advantage of it.

All Ranmaru has talked about is, you guessed it, himself. Ranmaru this and Ranmaru that. Sasuke is pretty sure he even heard Ranmaru mention they should build a shrine in each Hidden Village of him in his honor. Sasuke looked boredly calm, but in his head, he has played a little puzzle game. A puzzle game where you have to find all the different ways you can kill Ranmaru. Suffocation by pillows, stranging, a fire that came out of 'nowhere' would somehow burn Ranmaru up and not touch Sasuke at all...So many creative ways that Sasuke wished he could perform at least one of them.

But he didn't.

"In conclusion, I practically saved the female population of my town. Not that it was a big sucess. Everyone knows women were only good for cooking and bearing children." Ranmaru boasted.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. And although he told himself he would not talk, he couldn't stop his words from getting out, "You know, 'Prince', times have changed. No one thinks of women that way anymore. And shouldn't. A woman put you into this world and you have no right to disrespect one." he said. He didn't know why he should care if the man is an arrogant sexist. It's not like he was a woman himself. Still, out of respect for a certain female teammate of his, he felt like he should say something. He'll consider it an act of kindness, since Naruto and Sakura's always bugging him to be nicer.

"Ah, yes, of course. You are partially correct, Uchiha. After all, Sakura-san certainly proves that theory is wrong, doesn't she?" Ranmaru smiled at the memory of the girl. Sasuke resisted the urge to rolled his eyes. Here we go again with his slightly uncomfortable obsession with Sakura. Look, don't get him wrong. If Sakura showed the least bit of interest with Ranmaru, it might not have bothered Sasuke so much. But Sakura was just as repulsed with him as everyone else was and clearly asked him to back off and he just didn't.

Ranmaru seemed pleased with this answer and gave an odd smile, "Tell me, Uchiha, would it bother you if I took Sakura-san away from Konoha?"

This caught Sasuke's attention. Anger was visible in his eyes, and he wasn't sure if Ranmaru was ignorant about his anger being directed at him, "Sakura would never leave Konoha for so many reasons." he glared.

Sasuke may not love Sakura. But damn it, she was one of the two people he genuinely cared for. Naruto would have reacted the same way, he was sure of it. He wasn't just going to let her slip through his fingers. And his intentions were not completely selfish. He knew Sakura would never leave Konoha, ever. Especially since...'That is where her father is buried.' he thought.

"Don't be so sure, Uchiha-san. I'm a Prince. And not just any prince, the Prince of Tsukigakure. I have everything to offer a woman. Power, wealth, security, all the jewels and clothes a woman could ever want..." Ranmaru went on and on.

Sasuke bit his lip, because he was about to say that Sakura couldn't care less about any of that, especially not clothes or jewelry (she said she found those things to be of little use to a kunoichi, much to Ino's great dismay). All Sakura ever wanted, Sasuke knew all too well, was trust, happiness, friendship, freedom and love. If there ever was a time that the woman cared for material things, it was a very, very long time ago.

"You know, I've heard of you. Everyone said you were void of emotion and barely spoke. But whenever I bring Sakura-san up, you tend to defend her with such passion, it's hard to believe there's nothing going on between you and Sakura-san." Ranmaru noted.

"...Hn." Sasuke merely answered. '_Passion_'? This man was delusional. He was defending his teammate's honor. In the past, of course, he might not have done such a thing, but things were different now. He could not let his teammate be spoken of in such a matter and not do a thing about it.

"I must ask you, Uchiha-san. Do you harbor any romantic feelings for Sakura-san?" Ranmaru asked frankly.

Sasuke froze. He turned his neck towards Ranmaru with a murderous glance. What kind of question was that? Did he know the man before him? Uchiha Sasuke, the last Uchiha on earth, ANBU captain (well, he will, after this damn probation wears off) and in one month, will be one of the Second-Generation Sannin? Of all the questions this 'prince' could have asked, he chose to ask him this one?

This is the second time today someone's asked that question. The question was, why? Was it because Sasuke acted in a way that may have seemed like he loved her? Did he not act the same way torwards her as Naruto does? And yet no one's accusing Naruto of being in love with her. Well, mainly because he does have a girlfriend now...

"Sakura Haruno is nothing but my teammate. I don't have any feelings for her." he finally answered. Funny. It seemed easier to lie to this prince more than it was to Naruto...

* * *

><p><strong>AN: annnnnnnd cue the ending and the jackass author's note! :D Okay, so I already warned some people that everyone here is probably gonna be OOC...mainly because this is my first Naruto fic and since I haven't read the manga (c'mon, 500 chapters? you gotta be kidding me, I just fish out my information online :P), there's probably gonna be some inaccurate stuff. But Sasuke? Oh, every word written is done purposely, I can tell you that. I'll say that since the Great Atsuki Deaths, Sasuke...hmm, I'm not gonna say he's softer, cause he's not. Mainly, the biggest change is now he acknowledges Sakura and Naruto as his friends and he defends them, something he didn't do so often before. Now that Madara and Orochimaru and all the great potential villains are out of the way (hence Sakura's decision to start dating), Sasuke doesn't feel the need to build up walls anymore. That being said, there is still one last wall he has to take care of. I think you guys can guess that he's in some sort of great conflict and confusion with his relationship with Sakura. He knows he likes her, he knows he doesn't love her (yet...), but he does feel something more for her. This is just the beginning of his feelings being revealed.<strong>


	5. Chapter 5: Naruto's Temporary Change

When the sun disappeared and the orange skies began to turn into twilight, it was a sign that Sasuke's time in the carriage was finally over. He came out grumbling, muttering curses under his breath, a scowl on his face and a vein on his forehead so large, he was surprised it didn't pop all of a sudden. That Prince...Sasuke has seen some horrible things in his life, no doubt about it. He met people whose evil is so great and powerful, he didn't even think it possible. He has seen the bringer of death to the innocent. He had witnessed the beginnings of a child who would soon grow up to be a vengeful, sorrowful bastard who took everything for granted. He was trained by the most power-hungry man in the world and he had killed the most despicable, spiteful, evil thing that had ever existed in human history.

But never...before...has he met...Prince Hotohori Ranmaru of Tsukigakure.

Oh, the great things Sasuke could have done to that man. He could have killed him, burned him, drowned him, tortured him, destroyed him and he knew that the world would have literally considered it a favour. If Sakura, the most forgiving, sensitive and understanding person he knew wanted to tear Ranmaru apart limb from limb, Sasuke could imagine no one else wanted this prince around.

When he came out and Naruto hopped out of the carriage freely, his hands behind his neck, supporting his head, Sasuke couldn't help but think, 'Dobe has no idea what he's in for...'

"'Ey, Sasuke-teme! So, how'd it go-AHH!" Naruto let out a very girly scream when he saw the anger that intesified every second in Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto was literally frightened for a moment there. The vein on Sasuke's forehead reached a mass too great to be real and Naruto could see Sasuke has been playing hangman the entire time he was in there...with Ranmaru as the hanged man.

"...Hehe...I'm sure he's not that...bad?" Naruto said sheepishly, before quickly letting his arms down, dejected, "Oh, who am I kidding? Ladyface is gonna drive me insane..."

Sasuke watched as the blonde entered the carriage. It was like watching a man walking towards his execution. Even Sasuke felt a bit sorry for him.

"Hey!" his pink-haired teammate chirped. Sure, she was happy. He had heard her laugh with Naruto from inside the carriage. Not that he knew what exactly they were talking of, but their laughters combined were loud enough to be heard, not that Ranmaru noticed. The man spent most of the time going on and on about how he dedicated his life to helping the poor (of course, Sasuke could not tell Ranmaru that the 'poor' did not consist of royalty who could not afford more than four pieces of golden jewelry) and it would surprise Sasuke if Ranmaru even heard anything else.

"Oh...that bad, huh?" Sakura quirped, feeling bad for Sasuke. Sasuke merely nodded and sat down beside her as he took the map in his hands. Sakura began driving again and observed Sasuke on the way, "Well, at least you survived! I mean, I didn't hear any punches, kicks or death threats in there, so I guess it still went better than Naruto thought."

"What did the dobe think was gonna happen?" Sasuke asked.

"Well, Naruto was convinced that at any moment, Prince Ranmaru would come flying out the window followed by the sound of your Chidori." Sakura laughed. Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. He found it ironic that that would have been accurate if it weren't for the circumstances.

"...What did you think?" Sasuke asked suddenly.

Sakura stopped and looked at him in disbelief, then wiped that look off her face. She knew that since Sasuke came back and since...the Akatsuki Deaths, he had been more open to her, asking her own opinion about some things (whether he cared or not was the real question) but it didn't make it any less surprising. She quickly cleared her throat, though, and answered, "I knew you were going to be ticked off by the Prince. It's kind of impossible not to be."

Sasuke almost snorted, 'That was an understatement.' he thought.

"...But I knew you were going to be just fine." Sakura smiled. After all these years, it still surprised Sasuke how much faith she had in him. Almost more than he had in himself these days. He didn't answer but for a split second, Sakura could have sworn she spotted a light-hearted grin on his face. Even if it happened in the blink of an eye, Sakura smiled. A light-hearted grin could turn into a smile and Sakura knew that when that day would come, she would smile just as bright. But until then, she would settle for that grin.

In the heat of her happiness, Sakura felt the need to admit something, "Can I tell you something?" she asked.

Sasuke responded with a look that said, 'No, but you're going to, anyway...'

"Despite the rough start before the trip and the fact that the man we're protecting is an ass, I'm actually...really excited." Sakura said. When Sasuke looked at her, she was so damn happy, even he couldn't find it in himself to ruin her fun and tell her she was being stupid for being excited about an escort mission.

"I mean, I know it's just a silly escort mission..." Sakura said, brushing off a strand of hair from her face. Sasuke suddenly wondered if the woman could read minds, "But this is our first mission as a team in a...in a long time. And you have no idea how much I miss this. And hopefully...when this probation of your is over, we might do this more often."

"You mean useless missions that even a Chuunin can perform?" Sasuke mumbled childishly. Sometimes, he wondered why he was trying to _fight_his way out of a probation when the need for ninjas these days are at an all-time low. Sakura found it adorable in a way, because it actually looked like the almighty Uchiha Sasuke was pouting.

"Just like old times, right?" Sakura teased.

Sasuke pulled the map close to his face, just so Sakura can't see the look on his face. He couldn't help but tell himself that Sakura had changed. She learned to control her temper (...on missions, anyway), she had gotten more determined, she had grown more insight to the world. Othertimes, he can't help but think she still acted like that carefree childish genin he grew up with. The one who always smiled and laughed. Then again, he suppose there was more of a reason to smile nowadays.

Speaking of smiles, the last time he genuinely smiled himself was when he was a child. It seemed like an eternity ago. He wondered if other people noticed how he never smiled. It's not like he was deprived of any emotions. He did feel happiness, he just wasn't good at...showing it, that's all. He remembered a simillar thought crossing his mind a few days ago, so he went in front of a mirror and gave a forced smile. It ended up looking like he was plotting the world's destruction.

Safe to say he wouldn't be doing _that_again.

"I think I like nighttime a lot better." Sakura quipped, interrupting his thoughts.

He turned to her and slightly raised his eyebrow. He would have figured BOTH of his teammates to be 'day-lovers'.

"Shouldn't you like daytime better?" he questioned her.

She slightly shrugged, her eyes straight at the road, although Sasuke could tell that for some reason, this was relaxing and comforting for her, "I do, but...the night is so much better. I guess ever since I became Tsunade's apprentice, I've gotten more used to the night. And, it's kind of metaphorical, like...never mind. You'll think I'm stupid."

"You're annoying," Sasuke said. Sakura rolled her eyes. Did he have to tell her that everyday? "...but you're not stupid. You already started, might as well finish."

Sakura bit her inner cheek and answered, "The stars themselves are reasons enough to love the night. Did you know the stars we can see now are actually deceased? The stars we see now are basically just memories of how it used to look like. But they still shine, even in the darkest of times, as if they're reminding us they're still watching over. And they're still there...and I like to think my dad...Naruto's parents and even your parents, are like those stars."

Sakura stole a look at Sasuke, who was deep in thought. She would have given anything to know what he was thinking. Did he think she was stupid? Childish? Insane?

Actually, the only thing that Sasuke thought of...is how different he and Sakura was. She loved the night, she just confessed. Most people fear it. Hate it. Dread it. But somehow, despite all of the horrors the night had to offer, that girl somehow managed to find something good in it.

'That's a good metaphor...' Sasuke thought. He had intended to say it out loud, but for some reason, he couldn't.

Giving his teammate compliments these days proved to be quite challenging. For what reason, that has yet to be discovered.

* * *

><p>"You have to understand, in Tsuki, it is appalling that a woman, especially one from a royal family, even insists on becoming a shinobi so it was a complete insult. I should have known. Kimi can be troublesome at times, and I assume those pesant friends of hers are to blame. My father, so foolish, letting them speak of such abominations. Really, though, Kimi is a girl, all she should be doing is staying in the castle, learning how to knit and cook until she's fertile and ready to give another man powerful sons."<p>

"OH, MY GOSH, WHO THE HELL CARES?" Naruto screamed at him. Strangely enough, Ranmaru did nothing but raise his eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"You have been going on and on and on and on and on about how stupid your sister is for wanting to become a shinobi, and _hello_? Not only you're staring right in front of a guy with _many_strong kunoichi, but one of them is outside right now and if she hears you talking like this she will high-kick you all the way back to your damn village!" Naruto exasperated.

"Actually, I spoke of this to Sakura-san earlier. She did not seem to mind much." Ranmaru argued.

"...Eh? You talked about this in front of her and _lived_?" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. 'So maybe those temper-management classes Hinata-chan's been giving her are working after all...'

"Well...whatever! Just you wait, when this mission's over, me, Sakura-chan and the bastard will be doing a dance all the way back home 'cause we won't need to see your lady face ever again! Believe it!" Naruto said with a lot of confidence. He was counting the seconds until this mission was over. Well, he would, if he didn't keep on losing count.

Ranmaru paused. It was true, that after this mission, he will never see Sakura ever again. 'But that cannot happen. After meeting her, no one will ever compare to her beauty. No, that can't happen. I must see to it that she won't leave for a very long time!' he thought, a sudden determination entering his mind. Slowly, a smile stuck itself on Ranmaru's face. Because he remembered the very first thought he had when he saw the pink-haired maiden. Little did he know his thought would become an idea.

"...Do not be so sure of such things, Uzumaki-san." Ranmaru said cockily, "In fact, since you care so much for Sakura-san, I have the feeling that we will see each other quite often."

"What? What does Sakura-chan have to do with it? Huh? TELL ME!" Naruto demanded, suddenly worried. His stomach grumbled again, and he groaned. Right after Ranmaru told him to 'keep his obnoxious stomach quiet', Ranmaru suddenly stopped talking. Not only about himself or sexist matters but stopped talking altogether. He suddenly looked out the window and smiled.

Naruto pressed the matter further for a couple more minutes, only to recieve silence in response. But after a few minutes, Naruto gave up, also realizing that the Prince finally shut his mouth and he could probably get some sleep. He didn't want to jinx that by having Ranmaru talk all over again.

Well, maybe Naruto should have. Because Ranmaru's silence only meant that an idea had entered his head, and at the very moment, Ranmaru was contemplating all the ways this idea could benefit him so much. He even began to consider that it was the best idea he had ever thought of.

* * *

><p>Sasuke looked up the stars, just now realizing that a few hours ago, there were barely any. Ever since Sakura's comment, he looked up the stars with sudden fascination. He used to think stars were just that-stars. But now he saw something different. He saw the ghosts of the many people he knew who died. He saw the ghosts of his clan. For some reason, to him, they shined the brightest. He saw what he imagined would have been the ghosts of Naruto's parents. He even saw the ghost of Sakura's father.<p>

At some times, his brain shook his thoughts. Telling him to stop acting so immature, knowing that those weren't ghosts. Just stars. But something else inside of him told him to keep looking, because it wasn't as if his star-gazing was bothering anyone. He chose to listen to his brain, keeping his eyes on the road. But as the road ended up looking endless and it was a straight path anyway, his eyes somehow wandered back into the sky.

He looked at himself now and the boy he used to be. He was sure his past self would slap him for even looking at stars. In the eyes of others, he might still be the cold hearted bastard who left Konoha. But only the ones who truly observed saw the drastic change in Uchiha Sasuke.

Suddenly, he felt his shoulder becoming heavier. When he turned his head, he saw that his teammate was had fallen asleep. Or maybe she had been like that this whole time? Either way, Sasuke began to notice that even his eyes felt tired. It was time for a stop.

Slowly, he grabbed the reins from Sakura's hands, careful not to wake her. He ordered the horses to turn left, further into the forest that they were in. Suddenly, it felt like the scent of strawberries infiltrated his nostrils, and as his head followed the scent, it landed right on Sakura's hair. He was glad no one was there to see them. Especially none of his fangirls back from home. The moonlight, a carriage, his sleeping teammate on his shoulder and him practically sniffing her hair would probably give them the wrong impression.

He stopped the horses and settled on a place nearby where the trees were seperated enough for them to put up their tents and build a fire. He was about to go and tell Naruto and the Prince that they were ready to set up camp, but remembered Sakura on his shoulder. Quietly and as slowly as he could, he took off his jacket. And as he slid off the bench, he kept a hand on Sakura's hand, and placed his folded jacket under her head as a pillow. As he slid his hand away, his eyes were locked on the kunoichi's face. For some reason he couldn't even begin to explain, the last thing he wanted to do was to disturb her peaceful sleep.

...That's when he finally realized that he had been staring at her longer than he had intended. Not that he intended to stare at her, of course! His nose twitched in a bizarre matter. Was he getting some sort of allergic reaction? He felt like his nose felt weird and his collarbone felt itchy once again.

He decided to push the thought aside, at least just for now. He hoped the dobe would shut his mouth for once. The last thing he needed was to have Naruto scream and wake up his sleeping teammate. He opened the carriage door carefully, taking a peek inside. He breathed a slight sigh of relief as he saw Naruto asleep...obnoxiously, he might add. The boy's arms were sticking out everywhere and his mouth was wide open with drool coming out. Sasuke cringed. After seeing someone like Sakura then seeing _that_, to say it was a huge change was...an understatement.

His eyes turned to see that the Prince had been staring out the window this whole time, deep in thought. He had barely noticed Sasuke.

"Oi." Sasuke called out to Ranmaru, who turned his head and revealed once again that arrogant little smile on his face, "Uchiha-san. I presume we are stopping for the night?"

"Aa," Sasuke answered, "keep your voice down when you come out."

"Why? Are we sleeping in animal territory? I warn you, Uchiha, if anything happens to me or if one of those creatures starts chewing on the diamonds on the carriage..." Ranmaru began.

"With our carriage, animals are the least of our problems." Sasuke gritted through his teeth, "Sakura's asleep."

"Ah, but of course. A few moments of silence is all worth it for a sleeping beauty's rest, is it not?" Ranmaru complimented.

"Hn..." Sasuke ignored him. Then turning to Naruto, he whispered loudly, "Oi, dobe! Wake up and set the tent."

Which lead to Naruto waking up with a loud yawn as he stretched his arms and legs. As he walked out of the carriage, he yelled, "OH, MAN, IT FEELS SO GOOD TO GET OUT OF THAT DAMN CARRIAGE!"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow as Naruto kept on yelling and cringed as he realized this is probably the loudest that Naruto's ever been, "HEY, SASUKE, WHERE'S SAKURA? HEY, SAKURA, WHERE ARE-"

Sasuke interrupted him as he smacked Naruto behind his head. Not that he added any chakra or effort, but his annoyance with the blonde loudmouth put enough strength to hurt Naruto in a way that would later benefit them more than he would ever think.

Because when Naruto found his conciousness back, his first words were, "How alarming! The physical strength and increased velocity that your forceful impact possessed has given me the gift of intellectually advanced speech!"

"...Wait, dobe, what did you just say?" Sasuke asked in disbelief. Ranmaru's jaw dropped, despite it being improper for a prince to do so.

"Why, Sasuke, my good friend, I would have believed that your vocabulary is as advanced as mine, but perhaps I am mistaken!" Naruto answered cheerfully. Sasuke was about to ask another question, because the sudden change in character was too unbelievable, but he would never get a chance to, because Sakura Haruno woke up from her slumber and before anyone could say anything, her fist collided with Naruto's cheek, "NARUTO!" she yelled.

Konoha citizens will know. An angry Sakura holds more danger than an army of thousands of men.

"_THAT. IS. FOR. WAKING. ME. UP_!" Sakura yelled angrily. Sasuke stood behind with an amused smirk while Ranmaru suddenly looked terrified of Sakura.

Amusingly enough, Sasuke merely stared as Naruto disappear into a mere dot of orange as he flew further and further away. '...New record?' Sasuke wondered. He would have worried about all this noise attracting unwanted attention, but these days, he didn't fear much. Even if they did attract attention, no one would be stupid enough to go against them. He turned back to Sakura and his grin disappeared. She really was tired and needed sleep. Badly. As soon as Naruto got knocked out, Sakura's anger seemed to vanish quickly and her fatigue took over. Rubbing her eyes, she walked over to the carriage and grabbed the tents.

"I'll...prepare the tents." Sakura announced, yawning in the beginning of her sentence, "And judging by how far Naruto landed, I don't think he'll be back in time. I guess I'm setting his tent up..."

"No." Sasuke refused, "It's late. You're obviously tired. You shouldn't be doing anything."

"Sasuke-kun..." she moaned stubbornly, "Someone has to do it."

"The Prince and I will do it." Sasuke answered.

"What? Why would you even suggest that I, a prince, do such a thing!" Ranmaru exclaimed, clearly appalled by the situation, "I will sleep in the carriage. It's far more sanitary than sleeping in tents! And I refuse to keep watch OR set up tents. Such tasks are below me."

Sasuke sneered at him, "You..."

"Sasuke, it's fine. Really! I'm not some child, you know." Sakura insisted.

Sasuke gave up, but not completely, "You can set up your own tent and keep watch on your own shift but I'll set up mine and the dobe's." Sasuke decided on. He wasn't completely satisifed with his deal, but if he argued with Sakura it could take days.

Sakura sighed in defeat, "Fine. Deal...but I take the middle shift."

"Suit. Your. Self." Sasuke said as if he were saying 'good for you'. He felt himself smirking in satisfaction knowing he technically won the argument. Though he was a bit annoyed she wanted the middle shift. Every ninjas knows that the middle shift was the hardest time to do it, since you're awakened from your sleep in the middle of the night.

As he set up his tent, Sasuke overheard the conversation between Sakura and Ranmaru.

"Ah, so you will be protecting us in the middle of the night, hmm? Then I suppose I can sleep soundly tonight." Ranmaru complimented her.

Sasuke felt disgusted. It was like watching a puppy beg for attention. Only even puppies have some dignity. At least _they_would help their masters and not complain about getting dirt on their robes.

"Well, you'll have me, Naruto and Sasuke-kun..." Sakura added, not really caring for Ranmaru's compliments at the moment. In fact, they became an irritation as she tried to concentrate.

Sasuke snuck a peek at the two and was satisfied to see Sakura was not responding to Ranmaru as well as the Prince would have probably wanted. On a completely unrelated note, he seemed to be quite...content because he had noticed that lately, Sakura's been adding the '-kun' suffixe to his name lately. A small part of him enjoyed that and made him feel nostalgic, it was a reminder of their genin days.

"Your Highness, if you don't mind...I'm _trying_to set a tent up and I need absolute silence." Sakura finally said.

"Oh, of course. I apologize, Sakura-san." Ranmaru answered, but his voice didn't falter. Obvious, he didn't see Sakura's intentions of getting him to keep his trap shut.

Approximately two hours later, when Sakura and Ranmaru were sound asleep, Naruto came back with twigs and leaves in his hair, groaning in pain, "Ahh...Sakura-chan knocked me way too far. Gotta hand it to her, though, that might have been a record."

"So you're finally back." Sasuke commented dryly. Naruto turned his head up to see Sasuke hidden up a tree, "Ooh, Teme's sitting on a tree! Waiting for Sakura-chan to come up and sit with you, aren't you?" Naruto winked suggestively, with his hands on his waist.

'I see the intelligent speech was temporary...' Sasuke thought.

"Hey, you know, the weirdest thing happened! Before I got knocked out, I think I spewing out really weird words! Crazy, huh?" Naruto commented.

Sasuke snorted at that comment. Naruto began shaking the leaves off his hair, "These things better not be poisonous!"

"If they were, that'd make sense..." Sasuke muttered.

"Ha?" Naruto asked.

"Think I'm having an allergic reaction. My nose and collarbone are killing me." Sasuke answered. And for some reason, Naruto snickered, "Really? Maybe you should ask Sakura-chan to examine you. If you know what I mean...HEY!" Naruto cried as a kunai hit his foot, right between his toes, "Seriously, Sasuke, just 'cause you can't admit you like her, stop trying to kill one of the thousands of people who knows you do!"

"You're taking the last shift," Sasuke ordered, ignoring what Naruto said, "Now go to sleep, dobe."

Naruto rolled his eyes but obeyed. Before leaving though, he called out to Sasuke, "Hey, Teme, think about what I said earlier!"

"...Hn." Sasuke closed his eyes, twirling a kunai with his finger and looking at the sky. All he could think about was what Naruto had said. His words repeated themselves like an irritating echo. But just like hearing the wind, he couldn't stop hearing them. What he said this morning and what he said tonight. It shouldn't have meant anything, but for some reason, even his brain wouldn't allow him to forget his words.

Normally, he would have tried to get to the bottom of this. Figure out why exactly those words bothered him so much. But he didn't. He told himself it's because it was useless to try and solve such a meaningless puzzle, but the truth had crossed his mind at least once. He refused to figure it out because he knew that he might not like the answer. Or maybe he would like the answer. But if he did, it would be just a little too much.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Lol Smart!Naruto was fun to write. Granted, it didn't last long. Or...did it?...Oh, but I have big plans for Naruto. BIG PLANS! Just you wait and see...muahaha...haha...MUAHAHAHAHA!<strong>

**Oh, on an entirely unrelated note, who saw the Road to Ninja trailer? MY FEELS...Seriously. Naruto in the Hokage robes...Him and his parents (at that point I was two seconds away from bawling...THEY LOOK SO DAMN HAPPY...)...Badass!Hinata (HELL YEAH) and..SASUKE GIVING SAKURA A MOTHERFREAKING ROSE! Okay, spoilers there...but more spoilers, it turns out the character change is because it's all a result of a genjutsu. Damn...that's low. To show someone what they COULD have had and to make them choose between the harsh reality and the perfect fantasy. I have a feeling I'll need tissues for this movie. AND I GOT NO ONE TO WATCH IT WITH ME...BEING THE ONLY NARUTO LOVER IN MY CIRCLE OF FRIENDS T.T**


	6. Chapter 6: Ranmaru's Stupid Actions

Three ninjas crept in the forest, their all-black armor disguised them as shadows and hid them from the human eye. It was well into the middle of the night, an ungodly hour to be awake. But they had no choice. They were given a specific task and their boss, although she may not have been the most reasonable person, was simply terrifying when a task has been uncompleted.

The plan had been too easy to be true: grab Prince Hotohori Ranmaru of Tsukigakure and hurt him, very, very badly. They figured it would be simple enough. As their boss had said, 'this job is so simple that even you hooligans could probably pull it off'. So based on what she had said, the ninjas had no idea what to expect, they only knew it would be an easy task. Granted, they knew Prince Ranmaru had surely been travelling with some guard nins, but probably nothing they couldn't handle.

Out of the corner of her eye, Haruka, the sole female ninja of the group eyed her male teammates. After hours of searching, they found the location where Prince Ranmaru had settled in for the night. She gave them the signal and they had to detect the third ninja guard to Ranmaru who was surely keeping watch. They all concentrated and searched for that third teammate's chakra, but it was not easy. Although all of them were terrified enough, for they saw an unusually high amount of chakra in one of the tents.

The chakra was so powerful, it knocked one of the nins back. This action caused his teammates to break their concentration and look at him. With knowing eyes, the nin could tell his teammates saw the jaw-droppingly large amount of chakra that one ninja had. It was an uncomforting thought.

With her hands, one of the females signaled something, _'There must be some mistake. I can see some form of chakra in the middle of the tents, but I don't see anyone there. I'm definitely sure the watch ninja is somewhere in the middle!'_

Her other teammate, Aki brushed off his hand, saying, '_Impossible! You don't see anyone around, do you?'_

As both of them turned their eyes to their last teammate, they saw the frantic look in his eyes as he pointed to the ground. The chakra into was moving to the forest!

"Oh, Kami..." the frantic ninja whispered. Panicking, he turned to his teammate and mouthed, "What do we do? What do we do?"

Thankfully someone behind him answered him.

"Here's an idea: you run." the frantic ninja turned his head to see a fist colliding with his nose. For some reason, he could have sworn he saw pink hair. When he fell to the ground, he created a crater that went deep into the ground.

His mouth, opened with shock, swallowed a handful of dirt on the way. Once he landed, he spit the dirt out and attempted to stand up, but lacked the strength to. He felt his stomach had been shattered inside or something akin to that.

Haruka's eyes widened as she saw the rest of the ninjas, as fast as the blink of an eye, run out of their tents, ready for action. One of them was a man who was gorgeous beyond belief and one was a blonde man was dressed in orange, hardly the appropriate attire for a ninja, if they were ninjas. But as the gorgeous man attempted to help the pink haired girl, the blonde one stopped him, as if he was telling him to enjoy the show. Meanwhile, Aki saw that the girl was standing on the branch that not one moment ago, his own teammate was standing on. The pink-haired girl glared at Haruka, indicating it was her turn.

"Haruka, watch out for Pinky!" Aki yelled.

Before the pink haired girl could hurt her, Haruka had thrown her kunai at her. She knows it might seem like a desperate move, but she NEVER misses. That's what she was famous for back at Taiyōgakure, being the one with the '100% Accurate Aim'. And she aimed for the girl's head. She shouldn't have missed, but she did. With some kind of force built from chakra, the pink haired girl blocked Haruka's kunai. Haruka gasped as the pink-haired girl ran in for a high-kick, but Haruka barely dodged it, running back to the ground.

She saw the pink haired girl and her attack falling on the tree. She barely expected a scratch on the tree, but the tree itself was snapped in two just by that girl's kick.

"What is all this ruckus? A prince must have his sleep!" Aki recognize that voice. He turned his head and saw Prince Ranmaru, awake and out of the carriage.

"Baka, we told you to stay _in_ the carriage!" the blond ninja yelled.

Aki and Haruka took this opportunity to take their small gray pouches out. Senbon needles with a purple tip on it were inside their pouches and they wasted no time on throwing it at Ranmaru.

But the blond and raven haired ninjas quickly turned in front of Ranmaru and kicked their senbons away in the fastest manner they had ever seen. But the Prince, like a fool, instead of running back to the carriage, decided to confront Haruka and Aki in front and pushed Sasuke and Naruto aside, "I am Prince Hotohori Ranmaru of Tsukigakure and you had better cease this instant before I have you-"

Before he could finish, Haruka and Aki were able to throw a great amount of senbons at Ranmaru, causing him to faint instantly. Haruka was satisfied, 'Mission complete.' she thought. She couldn't have been more wrong.

The pale ninja began doing some kind of jutsu until a voice from behind Haruka and Aki yelled, "Don't you dare, Sasuke, they're mine!" she yelled.

And what the pink-haired girl would do next, Haruka would never forget.

The girl reached into her pouch and grabbed a fistfull of...something. Haruka couldn't quite see until the girl threw them at Haruka. Haruka quickly dodged, but wherever she dodged, 'Pinky' over there would throw some more of...whatever it was. It was the same for Aki, who had tried going to opposite directions from Haruka to confuse Pinky, but Pinky's aim was just as fine with both hands throwing whatever she was throwing at Haruka AND Aki.

But Pinky was too fast, or Haruka and Aki were too slow, because Pinky had managed to hit both right in their faces with what she was throwing.

"She hit me!" Aki cried.

Haruka yelled until she realized she wasn't hurt. Not one bit. And that's when Haruka had realized that after all this time, Pinky was throwing a bunch of...cherry blossom petals? The only damage brought was that Haruka and Aki were all completely covered in petals fro head to toe.

"Aki, you moron, they're cherry blossom petals. We were running from flowers!" Haruka exclaimed, angry that she was running from flowers as if she were running from explosive tags.

When Aki realized that Haruka was right and he was unharmed, he laughed, "Hey, darling, think you can kill us with flowers? You might have to try harder!"

"'Kill you'? Oh, '_darling_'," she mimicked his nickname for her, "Who said that I was trying to kill you?"

Aki and Haruka exchanged confused looks. When they turned their attentions back to Pinky, she had been doing hand signs this whole time, and the next thing they knew, she recited the words to a jutsu, "Sakura no Jōtai: Nemuri!"

Haruka looked at her petal-covered arms. The petals stuck and clinged to her body like leeches and the color of the petals changed. It was no longer the soft pink of a cherry blossom, but a midnight blue. And as soon as they turned blue, Haruka felt...sleepy all of a sudden.

"Aki...do you feel tired?" Haruka asked, her eyes felt heavier and her vision blurred. Her body felt weak and restless and she turned to Aki, who also seemed to be in a simillar state, "I could really use a bed right...now." Aki mumbled as he fell on the floor, fast asleep.

Haruka only felt confusion and fear as she unwillingly followed Aki and Shun, her other unconcious teammate, and felt asleep.

Yep. Their mission had been simple. But Princess Tamao neglected to mention they would facing Konoha's legendary team.

* * *

><p>Naruto absolutely <em>loved<em> Sakura's signature technique, the 'Sakura no jōtai'. Years ago, Naruto figured that Sakura grew jealous of him having the Rasengan and Sasuke having the Chidori and wanted her own jutsu. She apparently got inspiration from her mother (a shock to Naruto, since he knew that while Sakumi Haruno loved her daughter, she was rather cold to her). Her mother had spent years as an artistic entertainer and she had learned to put chakra in cherry blossom petals and make them dance in the air with the wave of her hand, controlling them. She called it the 'Sakura no dansu'. It was meant to be a dance, so Sakumi was delighted to learn her daughter wanted to learn her dance, but disappointed to learn Sakura had only modified the dance and turned it into a jutsu.

But since Sakumi had no interest in her daughter's ninja business, she never quite realized just how powerful that jutsu was. Sakura nicknamed it 'Sakura no jōtai', translated, it means 'cherry blossom state', like someone's mental, physical, emotional state. See, the petals are controlled by Sakura herself. When thrown at an opponant's body, it attatches itself to the person's body. From there, Sakura can literally manipulate the person's state using the petals. For example, after saying the words 'Sakra no jōtai', Sakura later said 'nemuri', meaning slumber. Moments later, those two ninjas with the petals on them fell asleep. If Sakura had said 'burn' or 'poison' or 'empty chakra', those ninjas would have been burned, posoined or had their chaka emptied. The first tests were a pain to all those who remembered being Sakura's 'test subjects'.

It was, in truth, a very powerful jutsu. But it took perfect chakra control and if the wrong person were to use it, well, the results would be disasterous. The jutsu could backfire and end up in serious damages to both the user and the people surrounding him or her, such as permanent shut downs of vital organs, which is why absolutely perfect chakra control and a medical background was required for this jutsu. But what Sakura had never tried is to say the words 'Sakura no jōtai: shi', meaning 'cherry blossom state: death'. To put someone to sleep required a small amount of chakra. Temporary manipulation of one's physical or mental status was easy. To cause something permanent was not.

She would know. She had once almost lost her life to saying 'Sakura no Jōtai: Fukkatsu'.

Naruto loved watching her perform the jutsu for many reasons. For one, she looked absolutely breathtaking when she did it, whether she realized it or not, watching her fly in an ocean of cherry blossom petals was almost hynotic. Or maybe it was because it was such a visually stunning jutsu, but looks were decieving, because it was still very powerful. But the reason he truly loved watching her do it was because he was proud of her. Sakura had spent half her life trying to prove herself. It took nearly a year to perfect that technique. People told her to give up on it, that it was a lost cause. But she didn't listen. And Naruto was glad that she didn't. He was with her the very first time she succeeded and in that moment, he couldn't have been prouder and happier to be Sakura's best friend.

And the hilarious look on Sasuke's face everytime she did it was also worth it. Naruto could never figure out whether Sasuke thought that Sakura was breathtaking or that he was getting turned on by her...Either way, Naruto figured that he'd be using it as a blackmail soon. Oh, the day Sasuke figures his feelings out will be glorious, indeed.

"You needed our help." Sasuke commented.

Sakura nearly popped a vein, "Excuse me? _Excuse me_? I did not need any help! All you had to do was guard His Royal Pain In The Ass and now said Pain In The Ass is poisoned and knocked out cold!"

"I was distracted." Sasuke excused.

"Oh, really? By what?" Sakura challenged, glaring at him. Call him crazy, but Naruto loved that Sakura now glared at Sasuke, too.

Naruto snickered as Sasuke proceeded to doing...well, the exact same thing he's been doing ever since he came back to Konoha.

"I thought the dobe had it all covered." Sasuke said plainly.

"_HUH_? Do not turn this on me, teme!" Naruto protested. Sakura sighed as this looked like the beginning of another argument between her two teammates, so she turned her attention the bruised Prince behind them. Several senbon needles seeped into his body. One on the corner of his lip, about thirty four on his upper torso and twenty six on each of his arms. Sakura sighed as she inspected Ranmaru's body. Just as she had thought, the senbon needles had poison in them. Surprisingly enough, they weren't very deadly. But still, Sakura had to remove it. So she began taking off the Prince's robe, only to have Naruto scream at her behind.

"Sakura-chan...why the hell are you...taking _off Ladyface's robe_? YOU'RE NOT PLANNING TO-?"

"Are you insane?" Sakura glared, knowing what Naruto was implying and she wasn't too fond of that horrified look on Sasuke's face, either, "In case you haven't noticed, the Prince has a lot of senbon needles that pierced into his flesh. It's almost bone-deep, I need to take them out."

Naruto grumbled and Sasuke frowned. Kami forbid that man wakes up and finds Sakura's hands on his bare chest. 'Hmph! Ladyface is just lucky those senbon needles didn't hit _south_! _'Cause there'd be no way I'm letting Sakura-chan touch that!_' Naruto exclaimed in his thoughts, folding his hands and pouting childishly. But he snuck a peek at thte Uchiha's direction, and with a delighted smirk, Naruto was happy to find out that Sasuke was glaring at Sakura and Ladyface.

"...Make sure when he wakes up, you explain the situation right away." Sasuke said immediately. The last thing he wanted was for Ranmaru to get the wrong impression. Sakura nodded absent-mindedly, mostly focusing in her chakra and Ranmaru. Sakura noted with irony that this was the longest she was staring at Ranmaru without mentally wishing him pain.

"So, what do we know about these ninjas?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke examined the two ninjas Sakura had put under sleep while Naruto fetched the one deep into the crater, "I see the symbol of the Hidden Sun Village on their foreheads. They must be from Taiyōgakure." Sasuke informed as he proceeded to tying up the ninjas on a tree. He made sure that they still had some of Sakura's petals on them, in case they tried to escape.

"Sun Village? Don't Taiyōgakure and Tsukigakure hate each other or something?" Naruto asked as he flinged the unconcious Taiyō member on his shoulder and tied him up with his teammates.

"Uh...yes and no. They're not exactly at war with each other but I think I've heard somewhere that the Princess of Taiyō and the Prince of Tsuki don't get along, so some of their villagers started playing the 'my horse is bigger than your horse' kind of banter." Sakura explained and cringed with one of the senbon needles that actually managed to crack Ranmaru shoulder a bit, "These aren't ordinary senbon needles, though. They have some kind of bone-breaking poison on them. It's not enough to kill the Prince but it is enough to fracture his bones for some time...I didn't even think these existed."

"Why would they use for bone-breaking poison? Why won't they just kill him with normal poison?" Naruto asked.

"Probably because they didn't want to kill the Prince but they did want to hurt him." Sasuke answered, then he turned to Sakura, "Can you fix his bones before he wakes up?"

Sakura snorted, "Who do you think you're talking to?" she said smugly, though she was only slightly kidding. Sasuke smirked and Naruto laughed, "Hell yeah, that's our Sakura-chan!" Naruto laughed. She had _definitely_ been hanging around Sasuke for too long.

'Hmm...hanging around Sasuke, eh?' Naruto grinned. Sometimes he wonders why those two can't just date already. 'It didn't take me and Hinata-chan _that_ long to date!' he thought.

Thank goodness he only thought it so no one would point out the irony in that statement.

Sasuke kept his eyes on their 'friends', waiting for them to wake up. At the same time, he snuck peeks at Sakura and Ranmaru, glaring at the unconcious man. Just as she had promised, Sakura had fixed up Ranmaru's bones and gotten rid of any traces of poison or senbon needles. Even Sasuke had to admit, Sakura did what she did pretty damn fast. He wasn't a medic-nin, but he was pretty sure it took a long time to get rid of poison and nearly seventy senbon needles from inside someone's body, hide any scars from their body _and_ repair their bones, but it only took a half hour for Sakura. Ranmaru looked as good as new.

Now all that was left were these Sun nins...

"Are we really going to wait for them to wake up? I mean, Sakura-chan's sleeping jutsus lasts a long time..." Naruto whined.

"We need to make sure they're not a threat." Sasuke answered.

Naruto snorted loudly, "How much of a threat can they be? Sakura-chan kicked their asses and didn't even do much!"

"Yet they managed to poison Ranmaru while _you_ and Sasuke-kun were on the job." Sakura reminded him. Naruto's head fell, "Never mind..."

Sasuke smirked as he saw Naruto's response. Technically speaking, Sakura was right. As weak and unorganized those ninjas were, they were pretty fast. Not fast enough, though. Still, like Naruto, he was a little peeved that they managed to poison Ranmaru. Here they were, the greatest shinobi of their time, and yet these chunin-leveled ninjas (or at least he's guessing) managed to poison their target. Sasuke rolled his eyes at the irony. Maybe it's because they were too comfortable with their new titles.

...Or maybe it was because he didn't mind Ranmaru getting poisoned that much.

It took a couple of hours for the Sun nins to wake up. Well, Haruka and Aki, at least. A strong punch from Sakura could leave you out cold for more than a 'couple of hours', which is why the third member was still unconcious. By that time, the sun was already rising. And when they did, Sasuke didn't waste a second on interrogating them, "Who are you and why did you try to poison the Prince?" he said. Normally, he wouldn't have been so upfront. He would have scared them a bit, get them to feel guilty or something. But Sasuke could tell that these people were already scared. Being scared and week is a deadly combination.

"Like we'll tell you anything!" the wimpy, annoying male ninja spat out. At the same time, the female ninja said, "I'll tell you anything..." with a dreamy look and soft voice Sakura recognized.

Sakura, who was previously sitting against a tree, raised her eyebrow and walked towards them, "Oh, really? Then tell us." she defied the girl.

The female ninja frowned at the sight of Sakura, the same girl who previous swatted her with a fistful of deadly petals. She slapped herself at the memory. Taken down by something that grows in a forest to look pretty. How humiliating.

"Who's she? Your girlfriend?" Haruka asked, with obvious jealousy.

The reactions to the ninjas were odd and almost funny. Pinky blushed and quickly said 'no', putting her hands up defensively. Blondie, who had been surprisingly quiet (Haruka assumed he was asleep, but now she thinks he's been spying on his teammates), shouted 'yes!' and Drop-Dead Gorgeous guy started scratching his neck hed something and twitched before saying, "None of your business."

Pinky looked surprise. If only Haruka had known, years ago, if someone asked Sasuke if Sakura was his girlfriend, he would have looked insulted, walked away or flat out said no. But this time, he said 'none of your business'. It seemed like he didn't want to say yes (well, he couldn't if he wanted to) but he didn't want to say no, either.

"Damn it, Haruka, stop flirting with the enemy's guards!" Aki said. He couldn't believe it. Stuck in the face of danger and his damn teammate was flirting.

Haruka turned her head stubbornly, "Well, then, if she's your girlfriend, then maybe I won't tell you...unless you could _prove_ to me she's not your girlfriend..." she grinned.

Aki would have done a facepalm if he could. Haruka smiled as Pinky looked absolutely furious and Drop-Dead Gorgeous didn't say much, knowing exactly what she was implying.

"I'd rather kiss a summoned toad." Sasuke said. Naruto and Aki burst out laughing because neither were sure if Sasuke was serious or not. Sakura did a fist-pump in the air. Haruka was beyond offended, but then Sasuke added, "Although I'm not sure there'd be much of a difference."

"Ooh, burn!" Naruto said, and that did it for Naruto and Aki, who were laughing their asses off. Sakura let out a set of guffaws and Haruka was fuming, "Well, I ain't telling you anything now!" she shouted.

The laughter was interrupted as a quick sakura petal whizzed through the air and landed on Haruka's neck, followed by Sakura's words, "Sakura no Jōtai: Shōjikina!"

Haruka thought this was a sleeping jutsu. But instead, nothing happened. She didn't feel any different. She looked around her, she wasn't trapped in a genjutsu. She looked at herself, she wasn't horribly mutated or anything. Haruka smirked, "Ha! Your silly flower jutsu didn't work!"

Sakura grinned mischieveously, "Didn't it?"

Sakura turned to Naruto, who grinned, aswell. Sasuke never noticed how their mischievous grins looked eerily simillar. "What's your name and your teammates' names?" Naruto asked.

And just like that, as if she couldn't control her own words, Haruka answered, "I am Takanaga Haruka, and these are my teammates, Fujoki Aki amd Nashiko Shun." Haruka gasped as the words left her mouth. Aki turned to her angrily, "Haruka!" he scolded.

"Yes or no, are you Sun nins?" Sakura asked. Even if they knew the answer, those headbands could have been fake ones to throw them off.

"Yes." Haruka answered again.

"Haruka, why are you answering everything they're saying?" Aki asked.

"It's not me!" Haruka protested, "It's Pinky! Her stupid flower is doing this!"

Aki looked at her as if she was insane, "Do you hear yourself? You're saying something my mom puts in the house to make it smell better is making you tell everything about us?"

Haruka knew how ridiculous it was. But whatever this Pinky person did, it worked well. First, she made her fall asleep and now she was answering everything truthfully and there's not a thing she could do to stop it. And Sakura knew that so many people underestimated her jutsu. But then again, that's what makes it so unique and powerful.

"Who do you work for?" Sasuke asked, tired of the exchange between the two nins.

"We work for Princess Kichōna Tamao of Taiyōgakure." she answered.

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, who nodded. It seems like the rumors of the princess of Taiyō and the prince of Tsuki were true.

"What was your mission?" Sakura asked.

"Our mission was to hurt Prince Hotohori Ranmaru of Tsukigakure with these senbon needles filled with HONEDOKU, a poison that reaches to your bones and makes them weak enough to snap. But the Princess gave us explicit orders to make sure that we didn't kill the Prince."

"And why would she want to hurt the Prince but not kill him?" Sasuke asked.

"Because she doesn't want him dead. She wants to hurt him because apparently, she had feelings for the Prince, which he rejected. So she wanted revenge."

"...That's it? It's just a stupid love story?" Naruto blinked, then leaned back against a tree with the wave of his hands, "If that's all, that's stupid! Even if they were a couple, they would last like six months!...Three if Ladyface gets fat."

Suddenly Naruto laughed at the idea of a fat Ladyface, but Sasuke and Sakura shook their heads and turned their attentions back to the nins. "So, the king of Taiyō has no idea about the mission his daughter gave you?"

"He doesn't even know that Princess Tamao knows Prince Ranmaru." Haruka answered her final question.

"I see..." Sakura said, then turned to Sasuke, "Nothing to worry about. Like Naruto said, it's just some stupid motive. Ranmaru-san probably won't even remember this tomorrow. The sun's getting up, so...let's just go." Sakura suggested.

Sasuke looked at the nins. When he saw them, he saw the pathetic Princess of Taiyō, hiring ninjas for a simple prank. He wondered just how desperate she was. He didn't know what he was supposed to say at this point, so all he did was close his eyes and walked away.

Sakura smiled because she knew that it meant that they were finally leaving. She turned and saw Haruka with hearts in her eyes. Probably thinking how 'cool' Sasuke looked walking away like that. Sakura glared and repeated her earlier words in a whispered tone, "Sakura no Jōtai: Nemuri."

Aki looked at his teammate who immediately fell asleep. He watched at the girl in awe, and asked, "Who are you people?"

Naruto overheard this and didn't hesitate to answer, "You ain't seen nothing yet! In a couple of months, we'll be named the Second Legendary Sannin!" he said proudly.

Sakura laughed as she heard him, "You heard the man." she told Aki as she walked away, watching as Sasuke smirked and Naruto grinned. She laughed and thought that life couldn't literally be better. Naruto noticed the girl was practically skipping in her steps, "You know, you didn't have to make her sleep. We were just gonna leave them there tied to the tree."

"I know. But it was satisfying." Sakura chirped before she hopped in the carriage.

She was suddenly happy for a lot of things. Ranmaru was still asleep, so she wouldn't have to deal with his annoying speeches for a while. She got to catch up on some much needed rest. That tonight they would finally visit this infamous 'Love Village'. That her smile, Naruto's grin and Sasuke's smirk was simply picture-perfect. And that Sasuke refused that girls' advances

But she couldn't help but feel confused about that last reason. 

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Ugh, I did not want to add names to the Sun nins. To be honest, they were just filler characters, but it got irritating to call them 'the first ninja', 'the second ninja' and the 'third ninja'. And the fight scene was not my best work, but it is five in the morning so..yeah, kinda sloppy. But I won't lie, the 'fight scene' was just a lame excuse to introduce Sakura's new jutsu :P This chapter wasn't planned but Sakura's jutsu plays an important part later on. I guess I could have introduced the jutsu on the actual chapter, but it would have seemed like a deus ex machina (meaning a solution that appears randomly and last minute that some authors use to chicken their ways out of creative plots XD). <strong>


	7. Chapter 7: Sakura's Dilemma I

The next day, the journey went faster than they could have imagined. Mostly because Ranmaru was still knocked and neither Sakura nor Sasuke had to spend time with him talking, which made a great amount of difference. For one, Sakura amused herself by petal-doodling weird pictures on Ranmaru's face. A very childish act, yes, but being Naruto's friend makes you see just how hilarious childish things can be. Sasuke was content with having a peaceful ride (well, as peaceful as you can get with the loud twins driving the carriage outside) and looking out the window.

Now, Sasuke, as you could probably tell, was the type of person to think in his spare time, really think. About everything and nothing, but this time, the clear topic was his...feelings for Sakura.

The dobe had been pestering him with ideas that he's secretly in love, which is impossible, Sasuke knew. Not that he had never felt love before, of course. But he had never felt love like this. To say that love did not exist was stupid. Sasuke knew it was real. How else could he have loved his mother so much? But the other love...

What was love anyway? A state of mind? An emotion? An illusion? A game? All of the above? And how were you supposed to know if love is true? How do you know it's not just a temporary feeling? What if you made a commitement to someone and that someone suddenly realizes that she doesn't really love you anymore? So many questions about it raced through his mind and he was only able to listen to half of the questions. The thing is, he was desperate inside to ask that ultimate question. But who should he ask?

Should he ask Naruto?

"Love is the special feeling you get! For example, when I eat a great bowl of ramen, not too salty, not too watery, not too cold, not too hot, but just the right temperatu-"

Yeah, probably not.

Should he ask Kakashi?

"Hmm. I understand your question, Sasuke, and I'd be happy to answer it. Here is the very first volume of _Icha Icha Paradise_. Read it, master its themes and understand that love is all about the sweet sound of love maki-"

For the love of everything that is good and holy, he would _not_ask Kakashi.

Should he ask Sakura?

"..."

But what would have been her answer?

Years ago, that question would have sent Sakura through an endless speech on love that looked like it belonged in a romance novel. Now, Sakura was more mature and knew that love was not all sunshine and fairytales... He blames Naruto. If that dobe hadn't planted the idea in his head, he wouldn't be overthinking everything. He also blames those damn Sun nin, for poisoning Ranmaru. At least if Ranmaru was concious, Sasuke could focus on ways to kill him instead of focusing on a topic like this.

_'Hn, whatever.' _Sasuke decided in the end, _'The dobe's so desperate for all of us to have a happy ending that he's made up some story in his head about me and Sakura.'_

That would be his excuse, the story he would stick with. The next time Naruto pestered him with his so-called feelings, Sasuke would explain to him what he thought. Even if Naruto wouldn't believe it, Sasuke would still stick by that theory.

But what Sasuke didn't know is that he wouldn't be using this theory anytime soon. In fact, tonight, something was about to happen and it would change his life. Whether it was a good or bad thing was the question.

* * *

><p>Sakura loved Naruto, don't get her wrong. She loved that the boy managed to grow his obsessive crush into a brotherly love and have no hard feelings over the whole matter. She loved how he made her smile when things get tough. She loved how despite the fact that everyone now praised him to be some sort of god, he still went to her for advice. Most of all, she loved how he was willing to do whatever it takes to make her happy.<p>

But honestly, sometimes, Sakura wanted to shut Naruto's mouth up with a stapler.

For the past trip, Sakura's heard an earful of Naruto's ideas about Sasuke. She had to admit, she was tired of it. Naruto never seemed to bring this up until recently, when she announced she was going to start dating. She knew that he meant well, but..

Honestly, Sakura was tired. Of getting her hopes up only to have them knocked back down. Of getting her heart broken. Of dreaming and wishing. For him...while a part of her knows she might never get over him, she knows she has to. One day, Sasuke will fufill his final goal of restoring his clan with a beautiful, capable woman and Sakura would just have to suck it up and deal with it. What else could she do? She had vowed to keep all those mushy-gushy feelings she's had locked away from Sasuke. She didn't want him to hate her again.

In truth, these days, all she ever wanted was for everyone to know just how strong she's gotten, to compensate for those years she's spent as a weak and whiny teenager. That years of hard work and training paid off and for good reason. She knows that she has earned the respect of Tsunade, the village, the children, hell, she's even earned the respect of the Sand siblings in Suna, and that was saying something. And she knew that the Konoha Twelve respected her.

It was Tenten who had helped her with her aim. It was Ino who promised her she was going to go far in life. It was Neji who had recommended her to ANBU (Hyuuga Neji, of all people, who would have thought?). It was Hinata who once told her she had aspired to be like her someday. It was Lee who told her she was swift as a deer, quiet as a shadow. It was Sai who assured her that she was far from weak. It was Kakashi who admitted he was wrong for neglecting her in the past. It was Naruto who has been encouraging her the whole time.

But these days, Sakura only had two people in mind whose respect she didn't even know if she had earned.

One being her mother. But that was an absolute moot point. Sakumi never wanted her daughter to become a kunoichi and probably never will be proud of her. Sakura realized that her mother was not her father, who was delighted in his daughter's different interests, who praised her difference and her strength, who had told her daily that he was proud of her. Sakumi was another story, no, another book entirely.

The other being Sasuke. It was a yes or no kind of situation. She had thought that ever since...the Great Akatsuki Deaths, he had grown to respect her. After what she did back then, it was sort of expected. But then in times like these, when she was battling those Sun-nins, she saw how Sasuke wanted to jump into the battle and defeat them himself. Did she look that weak in his eyes? Has she not proven herself yet?

More importantly, why were the opinions of Uchiha Sasuke so important to her?

Silly question, she knew why. She loved him...whether or not it was in the way she wanted to love him, the love was there. You always want, no, need respect from someone you love or that love will be void.

Right now, she's not sure. So she tells herself that she's sure that she will meet a guy of her own, eventually. Who says the guy had to be a ninja? He could be a common villager. Or someone from another Hidden Village. He could be anyone, really. And with that in mind, Sakura put on a brave, confident smile. Though she didn't believe it, she told herself that she will be happy just being friends with Sasuke.

And for a while, she truly believed it. For a large portion of the day, she truly believed she could get over Sasuke. But it wasn't until later that night when she discovered that she was horribly, horribly wrong.

* * *

><p>"I told you I had it back there." Sakura said as Sasuke exited the carriage. Nighttime was approaching and it was Naruto's turn to watch Ranmaru in the carriage. Sasuke's head whipped towards her with a questioning look, "What?"<p>

"I told you I could handle it back there, with the Sun nins." Sakura repeated as Sasuke hoisted himself up the bench beside Sakura, "But you hesitated. If Naruto hadn't stopped you and if Ranmaru wasn't in the way, you would have just rushed in and save poor little me."

"No, I wouldn't. I knew you can take care of them." Sasuke protested.

"But you hesitated!" Sakura exclaimed, "Why?"

"It's natural reflexe, Sakura. When I see a fight, I'm tempted to go in and join." Sasuke reminded her.

Sakura nearly suffocated herself with the map, "But you wouldn't have tried if I was Naruto, right?"

"...No, but-" "Ugh, I knew it! You still think I'm the same, weak little girl, don't you? Damn it, Sasuke, what is it gonna take for you to see that I have changed, just like you?" Sakura exasperated.

"Sakura..." Sasuke said, but Sakura was on an all-time roll here, and damn it, she needed to get some things off her chest, "I mean, no big deal, I guess I'm just another kunoichi, it's not like I'm an ANBU medic or nothing, not like I didn't kill some of the most powerful ninja known to man, and it's not like I literally saved your life, you know. I'm just Sakura!"

"I wasn't going to say that." Sasuke said bluntly. Sakura suddenly gaped and felt like face-palming herself at that point. She wasn't sure if it was the rush of the events earlier today, or the overwhelming feeling in her stomach that her luck was about to go wrong once again or because Naruto literally chewed off her ear earlier. Either way, she was dumping all of her emotions on Sasuke, and that wasn't fair.

"Look, I'm sorry, I'm just..." Sakura apologized, but Sasuke shook his head, "I knew you weren't weak. You never were."

Sakura stopped herself from talking once she had realized that the Uchiha was serious, that he wasn't mocking her or anything. He genuinely thought she wasn't weak.

"You are strong. No one can deny this. No weakling could do what you did back there." Sasuke said.

_'Back there...' _She knew he meant during the Akatsuki Deaths. He never seemed to like calling it the Great Akatsuki Deaths, and neither did Sakura. She thought is sounded tacky. Naruto sure loved the name though, said the word 'Great' was the spice on the ramen bowl. In fact, they rarely talked about what happened then...

* * *

><p>In the midst of the great Akatsuki battle, it was the first time Sasuke had discovered Sakura was no longer weak. He had been surprised to find out when she was only fourteen, she actually killed an Akatsuki member. Sasori, to be exact... But now, as a sixteen year old, she had easily killed Deidara, Kisame and Konan. And he wasn't even including the time she killed Kabuto. He felt so...helpless. He himself was near death from killing Madara, so now the entire Akatsuki was out for his blood. Just when he was about to die, they showed up. And all he could do was watch Sakura and Naruto, his teammates, protect <em>him<em>. He felt disgusted, but along with another feeling. Gratitude, maybe. But it was something beyond that. _'They just don't give up...'_Sasuke thought to himself, funny thing is he couldn't tell whether or not he was delighted or angry. Even after all these years, they still haven't given up on him and they were now fighting the most dangerous ninjas of all just to save him.

And something he will never forget. Deidara mentioned how much of a 'coincidence' it was that they found Sakura.

It turns out that Akatsuki was looking for a girl who could apparently revive people from the dead completely. The girl's jutsu was able to manipulate someone's mental and physical state with just a word. They wondered if a girl can change that much, could she revive someone? Oh, they've heard of the jutsu and some have tried it themselves. But here's the twist, the jutsu required a hundred percent perfect chakra control. A wrong move and not only could it kill the target, it could kill the user within the blink of an eye. It also required a medic nin's perfect touch. Tsunade could have been a good candidate, but who better than the creator of the jutsu herself?...And if they got the Kyuubi, it would have been a little bonus.

And it turns out, when Sasuke found Madara, he was ahead of the Akatsuki, who was on the search for Haruno Sakura.

When Sakura was done, she had left the last members to Naruto. He was too far, out of sight. She was near death herself, maybe not as much as Sasuke, but close. Panting heavily, Sasuke found her kneeling beside him. His rage came up as he saw Sakura, blood seeping out of her lips, bruises and deep cuts everywhere. And instead of doing the reasonable thing, which would have been to just heal herself, she looked at Naruto, so far away. He had reached his third tail.

Everyone knew that if you took a bijuu's chakra, it was lethal, dangerous, and though you might have plenty of chakra for just one last jutsu, you yourself would be dead. The chakra was too strong to handle. When a bijuu is sealed in someone's body, the chakra had to adapt for the bijuu to live, but only to the container. Plenty have tried borrowing the chakra from a Jinchuuriki, only to find out that their bodies could not sustain such chakra.

At the time, Sakura had used up all her chakra on her last battles. She couldn't even give a weak chakra-filled punch if she tried. But as she laid there, looking helplessly at her dying teammate, a thought occurred in her head. Her jutsu...she's never tried to see if she could fully revive someone. It was too risky and would requie more chakra than Sakura could handle. But if Sakura could just get Naruto's chakra...

Sasuke stared in horror at the realization of what she was about to do.

"Sakura...don't...do it..." a weakened, bloody, near-death Sasuke begged her. Sasuke never thought he would be the one to beg, much less to Haruno Sakura. What she was about to do was...stupid, insane, reckless. And she was in no position to do it. She only had enough chakra to go home. Hell, she didn't have much chakra reserve to begin with and she was going to restore herself with one of the most powerful chakra, her body would never be able to handle it! She'd die in a second!

"S-Sasuke-kun..." she panted, "You've saved me more than once. Now, it's...my turn to save...you."

And with that, Sasuke could only scream in horror as he watched Sakura run towards Naruto, preparing herself to be one of many who died borrowing a bijuu's chakra.

* * *

><p>Sakura gasped at the memory. What she did truly was reckless and insane. She wasn't supposed to be alive today...but she was, and sometimes, she felt like she takes life for granted. Then she remembers what she did, what happened.<p>

"I know you're strong," Sasuke repeated, breaking her thoughts, "It's just...I can't...it's too complicated."

Sakura watched as the Uchiha struggled to find the right words. It seemed like he truly did recognize her strength, yet he couldn't quite explain why he did what he did. But Sakura smiled. All this time, she thought he found her weak when it was the complete opposite. So she let out a lighthearted laugh, "It's okay, Sasuke-kun. You don't have to tell me right away."

Sakura sighed in a 'how typical' manner. Sasuke could get her from angry to calm in a second, and vice versa. She didn't know how he did it. Sakura liked to think it's all the anger she's been keeping bottled up for the past few years that's releasing itself little by little but in the rare moments where Sasuke acts like...that, so confused and lost, like a little boy who just lost his favorite toy, it was an instant release from whatever previous emotion she felt. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that those moments were moments where Sasuke was flustered.

For the rest of the trip, there was no tension between the two. Instead, a comfortable silence took over and engulfed the two shinobi in a sense of peace and serenity. After a time, light music could be heard from a certain distance.

"Sasuke-kun, look, we're almost there!" Sakura gleamed as the lights of Tsuki began to show. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that the stars fell from the night sky and landed on Tsuki, but she knew it was just their bright lights. She suddenly felt a rush of excitement. She's never been excited to go somewhere before. She's always dreaded it, in fact. Going somewhere usually meant she was on a mission. Having to worry about running into enemy nins, keeping a low profile (which, as you can tell with pink hair, was not easy) and the feeling of not taking a proper bath for a while. But now she felt excitement and anxiety. Curse Tenten for making Tsuki sound so wonderful!

"Naruto!" Sakura knocked on the door, "Look, we're almost there!"

"What!" Naruto said, his head peaking out the window and gasped, "Whoa!"

Sasuke found himself grinning at the childish antics of his teammates. He had to admit, it was an amazing sight to see. Even from afar, Tsuki certainly made an impression.

* * *

><p>"Wow!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed as they set foot in Tsuki. They couldn't help but. Naruto was simply awestrucked by everything, and it showed. Though he was a ninja, he'd never actually went to a place like Tsuki. He was like a little kid in a candy store.<p>

"Wow, what's that?!"

"Hey, Sakura-chan, look how shiny everything is!"

"Hey, teme! They have an animal farm and the chicken's head looks like your hair!"

That last one obviously earned a bonk on his head from Sasuke. But no one could blame the fox boy for being so excited. They all wanted to laugh and jump for joy. _'If only Hinata-chan were here...'_Naruto suddenly thought sadly. Being in the most romantic place of all Japan meant little when his girlfriend wasn't there with him.

_'Looks like Ten-chan was right.'_Sakura thought as she beamed at the sight of Tsukigakure. They had just arrived, and the little colorful dots they saw from afar that ressembled stars were now huge lights from every direction. It was beautiful. Sakura trees everywhere, even little petals fell to the ground, its light pink colors clashing with the green grass. Almost everything was covered in grass, except for the walkway in front of them, which made sense because, hey, villagers needed somewhere to walk. From what Sakura could tell, the environment was unusually healthy for a place called 'Hidden Moon Village'. You'd think that spring just came. Sakura found herself inhaling the sweet, intoxicating smell which was a distinct mix of cherry blossoms and another odd smell Sakura could only define as moonlight.

"Is there some kind of festival going on?" Sakura asked Ranmaru. Though she had sworn upon herself to try to avoid the redhead, she felt the need to. The whole place was covered with different colored paper lanterns and there was a fair amount of people, all of whom looked absolutely gorgeous, like Tenten said, around, smiling and laughing without a care in the world.

Ranmaru smiled smugly, "No, this is just a regular night at Tsuki."

Sakura's eyes widened. As her team walk through the happy people, Sakura could only notice one thing. The people in here...they seemed to be glowing. Yes, glowing. Their skins were practically shining or something. She looked over to Ranmaru. As expected, Ranmaru seemed even more handsome than before. His red hair, which was covered in dirt, looked like he had just washed it. His eyes, which Sakura thought were a pale icy blue, were actually silver, as it turned out. She had never seen silver eyes before, and she couldn't help but stare for a split second.

Ranmaru caught her stare, and he had that stupid smug smile again. Sakura rolled her eyes, thinking of how ironic it is that Ranmaru ruined the moment. Sure, the man was so gorgeous it was probably against the law, but it didn't stop the personality from ruining it.

Sakura wondered if this was a 'Tsuki' thing, then she looked at her teammates. Naruto's normally tanned skin seemed to be glowing as well. His sky blue eyes suddenly turned brighter, more piercing. His blonde hair seemed to be brighter, too. Sakura turned her head to Sasuke, and tried to keep herself from gawking. _'Holy Kami on toast, he is beautiful!' _Inner Sakura screamed. Normally, no one should call men 'beautiful'. But were there any other words to describe how Sasuke looked at the moment? The moonlight bounced off his raven hair, and with a sigh, he pushed his bangs out of his eyes. Sakura bit her lip to keep herself from drooling. The action itself was hot enough, but then his skin seemed to be brighter too, and his face seemed to radiant for Sakura to handle. Sakura realized she had been officially staring, and the Uchiha didn't notice yet, at least, she hoped not, so she looked away, blushing. Then Sakura looked up, and it hit her.

"Ne, Ranmaru, why is everything so bright?" Naruto asked.

"It's Ranmaru-sama to you, SHINOBI." Ranmaru seethed. Naruto rolled his eyes and waved his hand nonchalantly, "Yeah, yeah, whatever..."

"It's the moonlight." Sakura answered, and all three heads turned to her, "That's why they called it Hidden Moon Village. I thought they called it Hidden Moon Village because the nights were longer or something, but it's not that at all. The moonlight is strangely brighter here. It's making everyone and everything to look so...bright, clean, shiny, radiant..." Sakura trailed off as she looked everywhere, unaware the four were staring at her. Sakura realized the moonlight somehow made everyone looked ten times more beautiful. Self-conciously, Sakura tugged at her hair, wondering how she looked herself.

She should have asked Sasuke. What she didn't know is that when she had stopped staring at Sasuke, Sasuke started...'looking' at her (he was not staring, nope, not at all...) for the entire time. She was more than just beautiful. She was breathtaking, captivating, stunning...Her forest green eyes, which were filled with turmoil for the past few days with Ranmaru, seemed to be shining as if it were a completely different part of her body. '_Like emeralds...'_thought Sasuke. He had heard many cheesy lines about how boyfriends say their girlfriends' eyes looked like stars or diamonds, but he has never thought he would see someone who brought that line to justice. Her hair was suddenly different. It had been a mess and dirty, but now it borrowed the moon's light and made it look brighter than anything or anyone else, even in a sea of beautiful people. Her pale skin looked like it was glowing, like she had just stepped out of a shower as opposed to two days with practically nonstop travelling.

Sasuke noticed her first. Before everyone. He wanted to keep looking at her. So beautiful, so close, yet so far away. You'd never know just how much he wanted to keep looking at her, though, with his face, but his eyes sofened. And without him realizing it, his nose started twitching uncontrollably. And he began scratching his collarbone for no reason. Finally, a half-smile came on his face. No one noticed._ 'And no one better have...'_But as she opened her mouth, and the rest of the gang looked at her, mouths were dropped and eyes widened.

_'What is he gawking at?'_Sasuke thought when he saw Ranmaru's stupid infamous smug smile. That smug smile that practically screamed 'I can get any women I want without even trying'. He had no idea why, but Ranmaru's arrogance to his appearance annoyed him. And Sasuke wanted to Chidori that smile off his face. He suddenly wondered if anyone was actually listening to her logic about the brightness and not just staring.

"So you've figured it out. Very impressive, Sakura-chan." Ranmaru smiled. And Sasuke couldn't help but smirk once he saw that Sakura cringed when Ranmaru called her with that dreaded suffixe. "The brightness can be overwhelming for some. In fact, some people actually think Tsukigakure and the people in it are too beautiful to be real, that it's all just a big, powerful genjutsu."

'If it were, we'd be lucky, because that means you're a genjutsu, too.' Sasuke mentally grinned.

"Ne, Sakura-chan...you're...you're..." Naruto began. Normally, he would say 'hot'. But even he could see Sakura looked more than just 'hot'.

"What? Is there something on my face?" Sakura asked worriedly as she touched her cheek. Maybe her assumptions were right. Maybe the moonlight added a negative effect on her, as opposed to the glorfying effect it had on her teammates.

"No! I was gonna say you look hot, but it's so much more than that!" Naruto said. Sakura immediately blushed, and Sasuke felt something odd. It's the same feeling he's had towards Ranmaru and although the feeling wasn't as strong with Naruto, it was still there. Like...he wanted to compliment Sakura first.

But that thought was absurd. Well, maybe not. Just because he thought she looked...just because he thought she looked a bit _better_than her usual self did not mean he actually had feelings for her.

* * *

><p>Queen Hotohori Hatsumomo was a beautiful woman. There is not one person in the whole world who could tell you differently. With blonde hair, gray eyes, perfect facial features and fair skin, Hatsumomo always captured everyone's attentions. Male and female alike. She was an absolute genius when it came to beauty.<p>

She knew that her son was gorgeous, as well. With shiny red hair and grey eyes, Hatsumomo was not surprised at the number of women, young and old, the guards had to chase away from the castle.

Although, it seemed like she and Ranmaru were beautiful beings growing with a pot of dirt. Her husband, however, was awfully plain. Just one shade above 'unattractive' and below 'plain'. He had brown eyes, blonde, shaggy hair. His features were too rough, looking like he would murder someone in a second. His nose was far too large and pointed. Hatsumomo knew she only married the man for his wealth and fortune. Her older son, Hiroshi, became a well-respected ninja but refused the throne. And she wouldn't say he was plain. He was good-looking...compared to 'normal people'. He had half his mother's looks, half his father's looks, all of his father's personality. With blonde hair, brown eyes, soft features, Hiroshi couldn't be called ugly. Compared to her and Ranmaru, Hiroshi didn't look like much. But worst of all was her daughter, Kimi. Kimi had all of her mother's looks. She was a mini version of her mother. So beautiful, so adorable, but she was exactly like her father. Fair, calm, decisive, independant. It annoyed Hatsumomo that someone with so much potential resorted into being a boring child.

Safe to say, Ranmaru was her favorite. He not only looked like her, he acted like her. She couldn't have been prouder. And both Kimi and Hiroshi knew that she loved Ranmaru a lot more, it showed. But Hatsumomo didn't care about Hiroshi or Kimi. The least they could do was try to be like her, but no. They'd rather be brave, 'intelligent', independant people like their fathers.

She once met a woman named Tsunade, one of the Legendary Sannin. Kami, she was a beautiful woman. Hatsumomo nearly felt jealousy towards the woman's larger-than-average bust, but reminded herself that ninjas tend to have amazing figures, so it wasn't surprising that one of the most powerful ninjas would be gorgeous. More surprising is that most female ninjas tend to have amazing figures but everything else was horrible. Hair too messy, face too disorganized, things like that. Hatsumomo detested unattractive people. She knew that people who say that it's what 'inside that counts' are the physically unattractive trying to make themselves feel better. But who were they to talk? After all, her looks alone got her the title of Queen. Was she the best Queen? No. She was the most attractive one.

When Ranmaru said he was being accompanied by three ninjas, the Queen expected a half-wit oaf with obnoxious features and a hairy complexion, an ugly companion with bushy eyebrows (like the one she had spotted the last time Leaf nins were in Tsuki...she still shudders at the sight of that boy) and a butch girl who boring eyes, messy untamed hair and acne-ridden skin.

She was surprised when she saw her son accompanied by three...unusually attractive people.

The first was a blue eyed-boy with spiky blonde hair. True, his horrible fashion sense could be improved, but he had boyish good looks. The boy was sun-kissed, rare in these parts, and a very welcome change. Hatsumomo had no doubt this man had a girl waiting for him back at home. One other thing she was good at was reading emotions. And this boy, so full of life, still had a part of him that ached for his sweetheart.

The second was an onyx-eyed boy with spiky raven hair that fell behind his head, with some bangs that covered his forehead. Now he was a real looker. Hatsumomo could have compared his good looks with her son's. Almost. This man was incredibly handsome and beautiful at the same time, a rare combination. She could tell he had a bunch of girls screaming his name at home, too.

As for the third one, she was pleasantly surprised. This girl ressembled the Tsunade person she once met. The girl had pink bair and green eyes, a rare and odd combination, but pretty nonetheless. Her skin was identical to Hatsumomo, porcelain, fair, glowing. She was above pretty, that's for sure. The girl's beauty was something Hatsumomo has never seen before. And standing next to Ranmaru, Hatsumomo couldn't help but think of the gorgeous grand children she would have.

"Mother, I would like to present you my protectors. Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura." Ranmaru introduced. Hatsumomo could tell that the girl, Sakura, apparently, and her beauty had not gone past her son, who was already obviously smitten by her. Hatsumomo smiled, for once. She never smiled at people she met. They were usually so horrible.

"Welcome to our home, Leaf ninjas. I am Queen Hotohori Hatsumomo of Tsukigakure. I trust the journey did not give you too much trouble?" she asked.

Sakura and Naruto gasped. Being two people not used to the lap of luxury, this palace they called 'home' was incredible. High cielings, the pearl white walls, tall windows, elegant and regal furniture, the chandelier, discreet but eye-popping decorations...the woman adressing them, the Queen, was just as beautiful as the palace, sitting on a golden throne with a gold crown that surrounded her head and ressembled a halo. Sakura grew envious of the woman's, well, everyone's beauty. She didn't know what to make of the conversation she had with her teammates as they arrived Tsuki. Sure, Naruto and Ranmaru showered her with compliments, but Ranmaru had not stopped doing so and Naruto's been complimenting her since forever. As usual, Sasuke didn't say anything.

But Sasuke saw the way the Queen eyed them as they entered. She looked like a dog looking at a piece of meat. Three pieces of meat, to be exact. Sasuke can't say he was comfortable, but he was so used to this look that he had a certain immunity to it. Naruto and Sakura were just too engrossed in the beauty of the palace to notice it.

"It's an honor, your Majesty, and the journey was no trouble at all. A few ninjas stopped us on the way, but we handled it easily." the girl answered with confidence. Hmm. Confident, polite and beautiful to boot. The girl was getting more and more perfect for her son with each passing minute.

"Well, I had no doubts. We asked for Konoha's best, and we got them. Although I did ask for Konoha's best ninja, not Konoha's best looking young adults." Hatsumomo complimented.

While Sasuke had no immediate reaction, Sakura immediately blushed while Naruto laughed and whispered to Sasuke, "See, teme? I told you everyone thinks we're the hottest team in Konoha."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and whispered back, "I think she was talking about me and Sakura, dobe."

Naruto's expression changed and he immdiately felt stupid. Then a lightbulb popped into his head as he said, "So you think Sakura-chan's hot, eh?"

Naruto didn't have time to watch the Uchiha's reaction as the King's heavy foosteps followed suite. Sasuke turned and was surprised that the king wasn't heavily surrounded by guards as the Queen was. Naruto just seemed plain...confused, for some reason.

"Guys, it's the King." Sakura informed, then with a glare, she added, "Don't be impolite."

On the outside, that's what she said. On the inside, she was saying, "If you make a bad impression, I will tear you both limb from limb."

Sasuke tried to ignore the odd look on the Queen's face as the King sat on the throne beside her, "Hello, darling." the Queen greeted. Although the Queen's voice was fair and soft, the tone she used said she was not completely happy he was there.

"My son, you are here and unharmed." he greeted with a smile. Ranmaru's face kept a certain quality no one could identify easily. "I am glad to see you aswell, Father." he greeted. But like the Queen, his was void of emotion.

The King shared a smile with his wife, a big contrast to the Queen's uncaring greeting, but he never noticed. He then turned his attention to Team Seven, who all bowed in response. Sakura smirked, for once, the boys listened to her. "Please, rise. I have no right to let the legendary Team Seven bow before me as if I am superiour to them."

Team Seven shared a look of confusion before rising, "You...know of us, your Majesty?" Sakura asked. She only did becaus it did not seem like anyone in Tsuki knew about Team Seven. Granted, Tsuki was one of those villages where shinobi affairs did not matter. They knew of some legendary team, they just wouldn't recognize said team even if they literally walked into their village.

"But of course! Any King worth his title should know of the three youngsters who practically saved us all." he smiled.

Naruto was delighted. Finally, he got some praise! Being around with a guy like Ranmaru, he needed some compliments directed at him.

"Sweetie, you exaggerate, do you not?" the Queen asked, keeping the smile on her face, although everyone could see her smile wasn't genuine.

"Ignore my wife, I'm afraid she is not as passionate when it comes to ninjas. But enough about that, I just realize that I have set to introduce myself. I am King Hotohori Tadashi of Tsukigakure, and I am deeply honored to have you three here in our home." the King introduced himself, "I trust there were no problems on the road?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle!" Naruto chirped. The King smiled at this, while Ranmaru and the Queen cringed at his loud demeanor.

"Of course not. There is nothing the Legendary Team Seven cannot handle." the King said. Clearly, he was starstruck by Team Seven and it showed. They couldn't all help but feel slightly embarassed, but in a good way. Konoha was so used to them that they hardly got praise anymore. Not that they craved attention! Still, it was a good boost.

The Queen took this as an opportunity, "Miss Haruno, I do believe that you look positively famished. We are having a feast tonight in honor of Ranmaru's return. Would you care to join us?"

Sakura flushed, "Um, _we_ wouldn't want to impose..." she said, putting emphesis on the 'we'. This had not gone past Sasuke and Naruto, who already noticed that there was some sort of Haruno Sakura fanclub within the vain members of the Hotohori clan. Sakura began playing with the hem of her 'skirt', she didn't like Ranmaru's attitude and it was clear that the Queen shared the same odd interest in Sakura that she couldn't explain. Was it the pink hair?

'Honestly, I'm just a girl with normal parents...and just happen to be the first ninja in my clan. That's hardly interesting...' Sakura thought.

"Nonesense! All of you protected my son as a team, you will relax and enjoy Tsuki's many sights as a team! Uzumaki-san, I've heard you are a great fan of ramen noodles, yes? Our chef makes the best in all of Tsuki, and for you, he will make it until his fingers bleed!...Provided he doesn't bleed in the ramen water, of course." the King smiled.

Naruto practically drooled at the word 'ramen' and stopped listening from there. His last real meal was yesterday morning; chicken egg ramen (well, Sakura's been pestering him about eating healthier! Eggs were considered breakfast food, right?). Then for the past breakfast, dinner and lunches, he's had a meal from the finest of the menu of the forest. Grilled squirrel, burnt fish, berries and chips (though damn it all, Sasuke and Sakura ate all the chips).

"And Haruno-san, my medic team is hard-working but they are...let's just say, lacking. My youngest daughter, Kimi, has been ill for the past month and they can't quite figure it out. We'd hate for you to have to work, but this means so much for us, and since you are here...we'll gladly pay you." the King said.

Sakura shook her head, "No need, your Majesty. I have plenty of money. As soon as possible, I'd like to look at your daughter."

The Queen smiled but once again, her smile was somewhat mocking to Sakura, "Willing to heal some stranger's child and for free, no less. Aren't you accomodating?"

Sakura didn't respond to that, merely gave a questioning look to the Queen, like 'What do you mean by that?'. There was something about the Queen that unnerved Sakura. The Queen stared at her like she stared at everything and everyone else. The way she looked at her crown, her robes, her husband, her son, her guards...she eyed her like she was a prize to be won. And by the looks of it, the Queen was good at getting what she wanted.

"And Uchiha-san, while I am afraid I do not know much of your hobbies to know what you might enjoy, you, along with your friends, are welcome to roam any place in Tsuki you wish. Just name it and it will be yours. Truly, I insist on all three of you spending the week-end in Tsuki." the King announced proudly.

The Queen and Ranmaru perked up, their expressions identical and both saying, 'This just got interesting'. Naruto stopped his daydream when he heard 'spending the week-end in Tsuki'. An entire week-end?

"But...Hinata-chan!" he exclaimed. He didn't mean to say it out loud but when he did, everyone's eyes turned to him. Ranmaru and the Queen couldn't have cared less while the King, Sasuke and Sakura shared a smirk.

"Ah, it seems that you have someone waiting for you back at home, Uzumaki-san." the King smiled, then he gestured at a guard to come near him. Once he did, the King whispered something in his ear. The guard nodded and exited the room. "Listen, Uzumaki-san, I know how important it is to be with your loved ones. So I am willing to have this Tsuki Scroll sent to your little girlfriend so she may join you in Tsuki! We are nicknamed 'Love Village', after all!"

"A Tsuki Scroll?" Naruto asked.

"Oh, it's a very special scroll made by one of our jutsu specialists here in Tsuki. A person must write his or her name on it and it will transport them to Tsuki immediately. Granted, the transportation may leave you a little woozy, but it will wear off." the King explained.

Ranmaru looked outraged, "What? Father, how dare you not send me one of those instead of paying for three ninjas to escort me here?"

"Ranmaru, my boy, all you ever do is comb your hair and admire your looks and have your handmaiden compliment you." the King rolled his eyes, "We felt that a little adventure would be nice for you."

Ranmaru almost spat out 'how dare you, but the familiar sound of the bell interrupted them. The King smiled with glee, "Ah, it is dinnertime! Come join us, Team Seven."

And after many 'we couldn't's and several 'I insist's, Team Seven did finally agreed. They couldn't say it was complete torture, after all. They were practically being offered a weekend getaway with the finest of Tsuki.

Of course, if they had known then what would happen that night, they would have packed up their bags and ran.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Okay, in reality, this chap was way longer, but I decided to make it a two-parter. I apologize if some of the info I put isn't accurate with the manga, but let's face it, I haven't been very up to date with the manga lately XD If all goes well and at least ten reviews, I'll put up the next chappie, which is already 34 finished. Anyway, I had the picture of the stereotypical Beautiful, Vain and Narcissistic Queen in mind when I made Hatsumomo. I got the name from Memoirs Of A Geisha, where Hatsumomo was a rival of the main character. AAAAND y'all got a sneak peek of what happened with the Akatsuki, but there's more to come. In fact, it's a 3 parter flashback. If there are some things off about the chapter in terms of writing, that may be normal because I was playing Slender or New Vegas while I was wri-Ahem, I mean, I do not do that, that would be extremely unprofessional...o.O**


	8. Chapter 8: Sakura's Dilemma II

King Tadashi had mentioned a feast earlier. They had all anticipated this.

But what they hadn't anticipated is a very fancy and elegant feast with the finest (and apparently most beautiful) people of all of Tsuki.

Several people in their finest silk (and even some diamond-incrusted) kimino and jewlery with fancy hair pins were there. People born with roses and pearls and raised by them, talking about things that Team Seven were bored of already. Sure, they were a bit ungrateful. The upper class people were among them and they felt excluded, but could anyone really blame them?

All Naruto had in his bag were ramen packets, all Sasuke had in his bag were weapons and Sakura had weapons, medical items and her Sakura pouch.

Sakura had no idea how the boys were. Being...well, boys, and ninja, no less, they probably didn't care much. Oh, sure, Sakura isn't as obsessed with her looks as she once was but that did not mean she wanted to show up at a feast looking like a dirty slob. But it was a good thing that Queen Hatsumomo, for some reason, seemed to love her, because she supplied Team Seven with their own rooms but Sakura had her own special room with professional hair stylists, make-up artists and laid down a special kimono that was apparently from the most expensive kimono shop in Tsuki.

Now, she wasn't going to say that she hated the kimono. It was very pretty. It was a very light pink, almost white, decorated with several cherry blossoms that looked like it was flowing in the wind. The sleeves hugged her from her shoulder to her elbow but then hung loose, with a red obi that tied her waist like a corset. The kimono ended like a waterfall trailing behind Sakura, and she found herself nervous if she would trip on it.

All in all, that wasn't too bad. The make-up part wasn't even too bad either. Sakura confessed that she never really used make-up, mainly because most kunoichi never wore make-up...Ino might be an exception to that. But Sakura had to admit, she felt annoyed that she couldn't rub her eyes in fear that the eyeliner might smudge or that she felt like she was a canvas and they were painting her face.

What was really bad...was the freakin' hair pulling.

Sakura was sure these women were pulling her hair with the help of chakra because with each pull, Sakura felt like an enemy nin was trying to grab her by her hair. Give her previous experience like that, it was uncomfortable. Plus, some women were literally keeping her hair wrapped around their fingers, claiming it would give it a 'curl'. She kept telling herself in the end, it would be worth it, but it didn't stop her from cringing.

In the end, it wasn't too bad, she supposed. Her hair _did_ look nice after all. It was tied in a braided bun with a couple of strand of her hair hanging down from her face. That finger-hair twirling did work, after all, and Sakura was suprised. She had never seen her hair in curls before. Well...actually, she had never seen her hair in much of anything before. She always suspected it was too short to style it into anything but they made it work.

When she saw herself in the mirror, she admitted even to herself that it's been a while since she's felt like a woman, and smiled. Sure, she knew she was not beautiful, but she was relieved to know that she was very far from ugly.

Although, she couldn't help but feel anxiety. The king's earlier story about his daughter haunted her. She knew that Tsuki's medics were very well-educated so it must have been serious. She actually wanted to look over little Kimi right now...

"Ah, looks like the kimono was a perfect fit!" Queen Hatsumomo said as she entered the room. Sakura heard her heels echo with each click and turned her head. The Queen was very beautiful, indeed. A gold crown rested on her head, which had the same curls Sakura had, only half of her hair was tied up while the rest was down. The Queen wore a lovely gold kimono, with a white obi tied around her tiny waist. Her features were brought out now more than ever, including her striking gray eyes.

"Handmaiden, disperse. I must have a talk with Haruno-san." she ordered. The handmaiden followed her orders and left. As soon as they did, Sakura took this oppertunity to thank the Queen, "This kimono truly is beautiful and it fits perfectly. Thank you for giving us something to wear on such short notice."

"Well, Haruno-san, beautiful people must only wear beautiful things. It's what we deserve." the Queen responded with a smile. Sakura gave a faint smile back, although she wasn't sure why, but she was completely uncomfortable with the Queen. "My son, Ranmaru, knows that rule very well. He's followed it all his life. In fact...when he was a child, there was this blacksmith who, as a present for his son, made him the most beautiful and wonderful sword once. The blacksmith's boy showed it to everyone in the village, and Ranmaru saw it and got jealous. He demanded to have the sword because he said 'everything that is beautiful should belong to me'."

Sakura bit her lip, wondering where this story was going. The Queen's breathy, confident yet soft voice gave her an unnerving feeling. "Then what happened?"

"Well, my husband told him that Ranmaru didn't even like swords. He only liked the sword because it was beautiful and because someone else possessed it. I didn't know if that was true, and I didn't care. I told Ranmaru that if he wanted that sword, he goes after it. Do whatever it takes. No matter who gets hurt in the process." the Queen answered.

Sakura was taken aback, "I'm sure the blacksmith's son wouldn't have agreed with that advice." she said, somewhat more disrespectfully and snarkly than she had intended.

But the Queen didn't seem fazed by this. "No, he didn't. In fact, the blacksmith's son was very...well, I used to compare his hope to fire. The blacksmith's son thought that he could keep the sword despite Ranmaru's attempts to take it, my husband said that the blacksmith's son had fire in him. And Ranmaru, well, he planned to extinguish that fire."

"Did he succeed?" Sakura asked.

"Let's just say that a couple of days later, my son came back, happy and smiling and never spoke another word about the sword. When I came into his room, I noticed the sword displayed on the wall of his bedroom, like some sort of trophy. I don't know how he did it to this day, but I never asked. My son has a way of getting what he wants. And true to his word, he extinguished the fire that used to be the blacksmith's son's hope. Now, when I look out the window and see that boy, he looks desperate and miserable." the Queen smiled.

"...And that makes you smile? That your son stole from another?" Sakura asked. The Queen looked impress, mainly because she was. The girl was a bit too honest, yet she said it in a calm manner, unlike her teammates, who were either loud and annoyingly outspoken or cold and fraustratingly rude.

"No, darling. I was delighted because I learned that on that day, Ranmaru would grow up to be just like me. One day, he will want something he could never have so bad and what that time comes, I vowed I would help him get it." the Queen said.

Sakura stared at the Queen in confusion. She tried to find meaning in what the Queen was saying, but then it all came into perspective when the Queen departed, "I think it's time for me to join my husband."

Sakura nodded as the Queen began to leave. But as the Queen turned the doorknob, she looked at Sakura and said, "Haruno Sakura, you are a very special girl, but unfortunately, you are not that powerful, politically speaking. Remember that you cannot afford hope in the eyes of someone who is."

Sakura spent the rest of the night terrified. She had an inkling she knew what the Queen meant, but she didn't want to be right. 

* * *

><p>"Psst, Sasuke, don't all these people look so...bright?" Naruto asked sheepishly. The two were already in the dining hall where the feast took place. A long table was placed and plenty of food were on it, but no one seemed to be eating. Either way, making Sasuke and Naruto the only ones on the table.<p>

"Who cares?" Sasuke answered. Honestly, who did? He didn't. He was just starving so he was really only paying attention to his tomatoes. The chef had done his job right. When asked about his favorite foods, Sasuke replied tomatoes, but he didn't precise how it was cooked, so the chef had prepared him a plate of every way to cook tomatoes.

Along with that, Naruto was also enjoying his ramen, which was almost the same size as he was when he was twelve. Not that he was complaining...

"Say, have you seen Ladyface fighting with that blond dude over there?" Naruto asked. Sasuke looked to where he was looking and saw the Ranmaru was, indeed, talking to a tall blond, and was angry, as it seemed.

"Do you think that's Ladyface's brother? He has a crown." Naruto remarked. Tadashi, Hatsumomo and Ranmaru wore crowns, though Tadashi's was bigger and Hatsumomo's was more jewel-incrusted, Ranmaru's was both big and jewel-incrusted while the blond man wore his jeweless crown with no pride. He seemed to be older by a few years.

"Could be. How would you know?" Sasuke asked.

"Ladyface couldn't stop talking about how stupid his older brother Hiroshi was because he refused the crown or something. I'm guessing that's him." Naruto said.

Sasuke observed the fight between the brothers. Ranmaru had said something that clearly offended Hiroshi, who looked like he was seriously considering slapping Ranmaru, but instead he walked away.

"Ah, yes, Ranmaru and Hiroshi have never seen eye-to-eye." a voice behind them said. They turned to see the King himself, "I apologize, boys, I could not help hearing your discussion about my sons, and to answer your question, yes, that is my son Hiroshi, and yes he did refuse the throne. He felt like the life of a king was not the life for him, and I respected that. He ended up having two children with his lovely young wife, but Hatsumomo hated him for that, and so did Ranmaru. Kimi, bless her little soul, is still a child, so she holds no grudge against Hiroshi, thank goodness. Still, Hiroshi avoids coming here."

"Oh, okay! So...what're they fighting about now?" Naruto asked.

"Hard to say. They always fight. You know what, boys? Sometimes my own son frightens me. Ranmaru can be so...determined to get what he wants that he would hurt anyone to get it." King Tadashi said as he recalled certain events about Ranmaru.

This didn't surprise Naruto or Sasuke, but they exchanged a look. They were both a bit worried about that last part.

They saw Hiroshi walking away from Ranmaru and coming towards them and King Tadashi, "Father, you must tell Ranmaru that he must stop thinking Kimi's situation is minor, he's absurd! It's like he's saying that his little sister's possible death doesn't matter!" Hiroshi exclaimed angrily. He was so angry that he didn't even notice the two shinobi sitting right in front of him and his father.

Naruto and Sasuke felt a change as they heard this. So not only was Ranmaru vain and annoying, but he was also careless?

"Ranmaru's never been good with his emotions, son..." Tadashi tried hard to defend Ranmaru, even though he knew that Hiroshi was probably right.

"That's bull, and you know it! Ranmaru's perfectly capable of displaying emotion but the only reason he never did to me or you or Kimi is because he doesn't give a damn about us! He only cares about Mother because he's her favorite!" Hiroshi yelled.

Tadashi sighed. Never will his two sons get along and he assumed that with time, Kimi, if she lives, will grow up to hate Ranmaru as well, despite her kind heart. Tadashi nodded and headed over to Ranmaru, knowing fully well his words won't affect him.

As he left, Hiroshi rubbed his temple, attempting to calm himself down. He was so angry with his brother and worried for his sister that everything seemed to annoy him lately. He sighed deeply before taking a seat across Naruto and Sasuke, "I'm sorry you had to see that..."

"Nah, it's cool, Ranmaru's a assho-OW! Sasuke, why the hell did you kick me?" Naruto yelled.

Hiroshi shared a chuckle befor answering, "It's find, Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san. I know you both hate my brother, and I don't blame you...I think you two are the only ones who aren't currently kissing Ranmaru's ass."

Sasuke was kind of surprised that he spoke this way. For a prince, anyway. But he shrugged it off, glad he met someone normal out of everyone in the room that seemed so irritating.

Sasuke followed Tadashi, who was arguing with Ranmaru. Ranmaru seemed to be into the discussion, until he saw something that stole his interest, walking away from his father carelessly. Tadashi was visibly upset, but let it go. Sasuke followed Ranmaru...

Who was making his way towards Sakura.

How different she looked. She was already stunning to begin with. She really has changed over the years, but this is the first time Sasuke's ever seen her in such a kimono. For once, it seemed like even Sakura was concious of her own beauty, her cheeks flushing at every face who stared at her, and Sasuke knew it was a lot. Unknowingly, he was clenching his teeth very slightly. But who could blame anyone? Her hair was styled in a way Sasuke had never seen before. In fact, he had never seen her hair tied up like that. It framed her face in a way her usual haircut never did before. Not that her old haircut didn't suit her, this was just...different, in a good way. Her face looked different, too, like her eyes and her lips were popping out more than usual. And that kimono she wore...it looked like it was sewn on her, meant for her to wear it.

Sasuke quickly took a sip of his drink, suddenly realizing his mouth was dry the entire time.

But his teeth clenched tighter as he saw Ranmaru forcefully dragging her into every conversation with every person in the room. And obviously, Sakura did not like it. Judging from the number of people looking at her kimono and touching her soft pink strands, Sakura was uncomfortable and annoyed.

"Not just us, Sakura, too." Sasuke remarked. Naruto and Hiroshi turned to where Sasuke was looking. Hiroshi felt puzzled,_ 'Has Uchiha-san been staring at Haruno-san this whole time?'_

* * *

><p>When Sakura entered the dining room, Hatsumomo's words echoed in her mind hauntingly. Sakura feared her words for what they represented, but on the surface, it didn't show. Or maybe it did, but no one was acting like it.<p>

The first chance he got, Ranmaru took Sakura away to introduce him to Tsuki's best, "Everyone, this is Haruno Sakura. You might have heard of her, she is the Godaime's apprentice and the kunoichi of the legendary Team Seven." Ranmaru introduced.

Sakura gave a faint smile that indicated she didn' to be here. At the moment, there were only two things on her mind: Hatsumomo's story and little Hotohori Kimi. But they didn't care. They said hi to her and complimented her beauty like she was nothing but a pretty bird. Both Ranmaru and Hatsumomo have attempted to win her over with shallow compliments, expecting her to nod, smile, and repeat their words like the pretty bird they saw her as.

Well, she refused to be that bird.

"If you don't _mind_, your Highness, I have to speak with my teammates." she snapped, turning her heel. Ranmaru watched, slightly in shock as the girl left without his permission. Right in the middle of a conversation with other people. Although they didn't seem to notice her leave, Ranmaru was absolutely furious about it.

But Sakura didn't care. She was furious at so many things. It was just her luck to end up surrounded by these kind of snobby people. All she had wanted was to take a look at that little girl, to find out what was happening to her. She didn't know how Hatsumomo and Ranmaru did it. She saw King Tadashi and who appears to be Ranmaru's brother, Hiroshi, both trying to smile but clearly worried, but Hatsumomo and Ranmaru flaunted around like nothing was wrong. Like their daughter or sister, was not in danger.

It disgusted her, really. And an aching feel in her stomach continued, which she tried to ignore. She told herself it was because of the tight obi and left to look for Naruto and Sasuke.

Surely enough, they were the only ones on the table. King Tadashi had just briefly spoken to them before leaving and she could see from afar that Naruto wore a sleek black kimono with an orange obi and laughed when he saw how funcomfortable Naruto was. She bit her lip when she saw Sasuke's blue kimono with a black obi and white lining. She felt even more jealous when she realized that their kimono, while they were simple, still made them look amazing while she had to wear something out of the ordinary to look good.

She noticed that sitting just across from them was Prince Hotohori Hiroshi.

"Hey, Sakura-cha...whoa!" Naruto said when he saw her, "You look great!"

Sakura smiled. She knew she did and for once, she didn't try to deny it. It felt good to finally feel feminine. Once again, aside from Ino, being a kunoichi was a constant struggle when it came to that aspect.

"Thanks, you two don't look so bad yourselves." Sakura smiled as she sat down with them. She noticed Sasuke's mood changed drastically. A few moments ago, he seemed perplexed by something. The moment she showed up, he seemed to relax a bit.

"You look..." Sasuke began but cleared his throat. He had hoped no one heard him. Naruto didn't anyway. Although Sakura did, but she pretended not to, leaving a small smile on her face. Of course, inside, the twelve year old in her wanted to squeal and overanalyze it.

"Prince Hiroshi, it's an honor." Sakura greeted with a bow.

Hiroshi smiled, "Please, Haruno-san, call me Hiroshi. In fact, all of you call me Hiroshi. Anyone who has the gal to refuse being my brother's arm candy deserves respect."

Sakura laughed as she took a seat beside Sasuke, "I'm guessing his Highness' stories were true, his brother isn't so fond of him."

Hiroshi snorted in an un-Princely matter, "To put it kindly, yes."

"So, is it normal that we're the only ones sitting?" Sakura asked. Naruto and Sasuke nodded, "If we get up, people are gonna talk to us...and the people here kinda scare us."

"Scare you, dobe." Sasuke corrected. It's true, they just annoyed him.

"Oh, whatever!" Naruto said.

"No one ever sits during these feasts. Everyone's just here to talk and socialize and hope to climb the social status up a bit higher. They also tend to avoid the food, though. Most of the people here are afraid of weight gain." Hiroshi noted.

"I will never understand that!" Naruto said. Hiroshi sweatdropped as he saw the contenants of the three ninjas' plates. They sure ate a lot and fast...

"Hey, Hiroshi, about your little sister..." Naruto slowly asked, "What does she look like?"

He wanted to ask this question for a while and Sakura paid extra attention. They both saw how hesitant Hiroshi was at first but answered the question.

"A spitting image of my mother." Hiroshi answered, "Blonde, almost golden hair. Striking grey eyes. Fair skin. She looked exactly like my mother when she was a child. But that's where the similarities stop. She's nothing like my mother, personality wise, she's more like my father. Reasonable, kind, down to earth. Why do you ask?""

"But that doesn't make sense! Ranmaru has red hair, everyone else is blond!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Oh. Well, my mother's great-grandmother had red hair. She says it's rare but it comes back in my mother's genes every few generations. Odds are our kids' great grandkids will probably have red hair aswell." Hiroshi explained.

Naruto nodded, but he was still confused, though he tried not to show it. Meanwhile, Sakura took this oppertunity to talk about Kimi, "So, about Kimi, how old is she?"

"Six. I'm sure Ranmaru must have told you she was fourteen or so. He only assumes that because he had never even looked at Kimi in the eye." Hiroshi says.

"Wait." Sasuke interrupted, "His sister's been living in the same palace as him but he's never once looked at her?"

Hiroshi nodded, "Sad, huh? Mother only looks at Kimi a few times because she looks like her and I'm sure she's planning on turning Kimi into another clone of her, but it won't happen. Kimi is far too kind."

"Well, your father actually asked me to check on Kimi. Apparently her condition is pretty odd?" Sakura asked.

"Yes, we don't know what happened! One day she was fine, the next, she wandered around without speaking a word. Her grey irises suddenly looked paler and almost white. She's gone through some sort of catatonic state and no one knows exactly what happened to her...I'd be honestly grateful if you can help her, Sakura-san."

Sakura bit her lip. She was used to this kind of pressure being put on her daily at the hospital, but...those were ninjas. Grown adults with none-unidentifed diseases. How is she supposed to cope with a little girl with a problem no one knows for sure?

That was all Sakura could think about as Naruto and Hiroshi made small talk. She hadn't noticed the Uchiha staring at her and feeling her stress. He had wanted to say something, but kept his mouth shut. He was sure she was thinking about the little girl.

"Anyway, please don't judge Tsuki that hardly. Most of the people in Tsuki are kind-hearted people, but unfortunately, most of these feasts only invite high-powered clans. I hope you understand we are not all that bad." Hiroshi said.

"No, we understand," Sakura said, "not everyone can be kind, right?"

Suddenly, Sakura felt a little tightness in her throat, and had to tap her throat for the food to pass. Everyone looked at her in concern, but it was Sasuke who spoke out first, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just...this obi is too tight, I think I just need some air." she said. Sasuke began stand up from his chair, but Sakura stopped him, "Thanks but no thanks, Sasuke-kun, it'll only be a minute." she insisted, before giving him a modest smile and leaving the boys.

Naruto watched the scene with the same perverted grin he'd had on for days, "Aww...teme's actually worried for Sakura-chan!" he cooed.

"Shut up." Sasuke said.

"You are so in denial!" Naruto laughed. Hiroshi spit out some of his wine into his cup, "Wait, I'm confused...Uchiha-san, you're not in a relationship with Haruno-san?"

"What? No." Sasuke answered, why would he even think that?

Naruto just laughed and Hiroshi chuckled, "I apologize, Uchiha-san, but the way you looked at her when she came in and when Ranmaru touched her, your concern for her, I guess I, uh...misunderstood."

Naruto just kept on laughing; even a complete stranger noticed it! Hiroshi chuckled in his drink and all Sasuke could do was what he had been doing for the past few days: deny everything, twitch and scratch.

* * *

><p>Sakura loosened her obi and sighed in relief. She grabbed some fresh air in the balcony outside, breathing in that intoxicating smile. She never knew how sweet cherry blossoms smelled. She guessed that after living in a home filled with cherry blossoms around that she got used to the smell (Wait, was that the reason Rock Lee insisted on sniffing her?).<p>

Her eyes trailed to the window above them. She could see the inside was all pink and purple, and instantly knew that it was little Kimi's room. She frowned. She wanted to see this girl now, examine her, see what was wrong...she knew she wouldn't get any sleep tonight. She would be tossing and turning over this girl.

She pushed those thoughts aside as she heard someone approach her. Quickly, she turned her head and saw Ranmaru, who closed the doors behind him.

"Your Highness...why did you close the door?" Sakura asked. Ranmaru looked less than pleased, to put it lightly.

He had completely ignored her question and moved to another topic, "You're not an easy woman to tame, Sakura-san."

Sakura was confused to why he began the conversation like that. She knew he was referring to earlier, when Sakura 'rudely' left him and his guests earlier. She rolled her eyes. Just because she was polite did not mean she was a pushover. Really, there was only so much a girl could take.

"You're not like other women." he said again.

"Well, most women don't fight to not be like other women." she answered simply. Did she not have the very same conversation with her mother once?

"You say it as if it were a bad thing to be like most women." Ranmaru noticed, "After all, the women in there seem to be having a good time."

"No, they're not. No one is!" Sakura exclaimed, "They're all here for one thing and that's social pull. They're all here hoping they can kiss enough ass to be invited to the next big royal event."

Ranmaru's eyes widened but Sakura didn't care. She was so beyond furious that she could snap anyone's neck at the moment. It was a while since she's said anything vulgare but she was glad to say it. She had enough of everything that Ranmaru's been putting her through. Instead he approached her without any intentions of continuing this discussion, "I did not come here to discuss peoples' motives for coming here with you, Sakura-san."

That look on his face...Sakura did not like it one bit.

"I came here to tell you that you shouldn't find the inevitable." he answered. Sakura only now realized just how close he was, at kissing distance.

"What are you-?" Sakura was interrupted when his lips attacked hers forcefully. Ranmaru's hands made his way to her waist, pressing her against him. Sakura pulled her head back and had just enough time to say, "Get off me!" before he kissed her back again.

Sakura got sick of this and immediately used the tiniest bit of force in her hands to push Ranmaru away, even if the tiniest bit of force meant sending him flying and hitting the doors.

"I have told you time and again, I am not interested in you. If you can't accept that, then stay the _hell_ away from me." she said with such venom in her tone. There were few people Sakura genuinely hated. Once was Uchiha Madara. The others were Danzo and the rest of the Elder Council. She could never forgive either one for the hell they put Sasuke through. And the recently added to the list was Hotohori Ranmaru.

But with what he did next, Sakura was surprise she didn't full out kill him.

Despite not using any chakra, Sakura may have pushed him far enough for him to hit the doors, but not enough to knock him out. She had her hand on the doorknob when Ranmaru grabbed her ankle and pulled it to him, making her loose her balance and fall. He approached her between her legs and grabbed her wrists, pulling them down and pressing her body to the ground with his. Sakura's eyes widened as he began to kiss her neck, then her collarbone, then went lower every second.

"I don't like being told of what I can and can't have, _Sakura-chan_." he said, moving her wrists above her head and holding them with one hand, then with his free hand, he caressed Sakura's leg before moving it higher on her upper thigh.

He loved it. Her struggle, her squirming, her cries for him to get off him, knowing fully well no one could hear her with such a party going on inside. He loved how much pain he was inflicting on her and the pleasure he received from it.

"Alright, you know what? _This has gone far enough_!" she yelled. Before Ranmaru's lips could go any lower and before his hand could move any higher, Sakura, whether she knew it or not, used chakra to move her leg off Ranmaru's and hit her foot against his skull, making him grab his head in agony. Sakura's hands were free, but she wasn't going to stop there. She used her other leg to hit Ranmaru between his legs and used one fist to punch his gut followed by another one to punch his jaw upwards.

Ranmaru had never been physically harmed before when he was concious, so you can imagine his surprise. He had never felt physical pain before and it hurt more than words described for him. Before that, Sakura grabbed him by his collar and raised him into the air with one hand, "If you touch me with any part of your body, I will cut it off." she finally said and with one last, none-chakra filled punch, but a punch filled all her anger and fraustration that she's kept bottled up for the last two days, she punched him right on his face before releasing him at the same time, making him fly once again across the balcony.

She panted heavily. Her once-perfect hair was now a mess, her obi was wrinkled and messy and she felt the disgusting taste of Ranmaru on her lips...and to think, that bastard was her first kiss...

She felt teary-eyed at the thought. She almost lost something very important to this horrible man but she also lost her first kiss, once she's been saving for someone very special. She didn't know what hurt the most.

When she opened the doors, instead of sitting down and telling her teammates, Sakura ran out of the dining hall as fast she could. When she reached the first empty corridor she could find, she fell against the wall, let her back slide and let her tears fall. 

* * *

><p>Sasuke took his eyes off that balcony for one second and for that once second, the balcony doors were suddenly closed. At first, he assumed that Sakura closed it, then thought nothing more of it.<p>

Then he saw something very odd. He saw the door bump a few times and his curiousity peaked. He looked around in search for a certain red headed prince, but he was nowhere to be found. With all the horror in his eyes and the fear in his stomach, he had not heard Naruto and Hiroshi asking him what was wrong. He just stood up from his chair, with every intention of going in that balcony. At that exact moment, he saw Sakura run faster than the speed of lightning to the doors.

He knew that very second something was wrong. The clicking noises that the crowd made and Naruto and Hiroshi's words that were once so clear now turned into a slow, incoherant babbling. No matter how fast Sasuke thought he ran, his vision seemed to blur and everything look like nothing but colors. When he finally reached the doors, his vision turned back to normal and so did his hearing, but he wished it didn't, because he heard a sound all too familiar with him.

Sakura was crying. 

* * *

><p>Naruto and Hiroshi were both confused. They saw Sakura running at the speed of light and they saw the distracted Uchiha running after her. But...<p>

"What was she running from?" Naruto asked. Hiroshi thought about it for a second, then realized something, "Where is Ranmaru?"

Naruto was puzzled, "Huh? Ladyface, what do you mean...?" he said, but as Naruto looked around, he noticed that Ranmaru was not at the party. His eyes turned to Hiroshi in fear and back at the balcony, "No way. You don't think...?"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't have to. With the same speed Sakura and Sasuke possessed, they both ran towards the balcony and stopped for when they opened the doors, they saw Ranmaru, unconcious and with his nose bleeding.

Hiroshi began to put the pieces together. A fleeing woman, a beaten up Ranmaru, alone in a balcony where one could scream all they wanted but no one within the party would ever hear.

"Oh, Ranmaru, you fool...what have you done?"

* * *

><p>Whenever Sakura thought that it was her last tear, she would wipe her eyes on her kimono, surprised to see the make up had not smudge. But then a new set of tears would burst out of her and it hurt every time. It hurt her mind. It hurt her heart. It hurt her eyes. It hurt her throat. Her face felt sore. And when she thought of where his hands once were, it hurt...'<em>Everywhere<em>...' she remembered.

He had not gone far enough, but he was close. So, very close...and Sakura had been too traumatized to do anything sooner.

She felt stupid, weak, ignorant, naïve. She knew something was wrong the very second those doors closed and yet she had done nothing at first.

"Sakura..."

Sakura knew whose voice it belonged to, so her tears fell even faster. She did not want anyone close to her to see her like this, but she was just so...she felt so...

There were mix of emotions rushing through her body, all of them felt horrible. She didn't want to be afraid, but she was terrified. She didn't want to be angry, but she was furious. She had considered this the worse feeling ever, a constant juggle between fury and fright and sadness, and she's only felt it a handful of times before. When Sasuke left. When her father left...

"What happened?" Sasuke asked again, sitting down on the floor beside her. She didn't know what had possessed her to do what she had done next.

When she looked up into his eyes, Sakura knew Sasuke could see what had happened. She was shivering, her kimono was torn, her hair an utter mess. Sasuke's eyes widened as he heard Sakura stutter through her sobs, "H-He didn't g-get a chance to go too f-far, but it was just s-so..." she sobbed.

Sasuke stood for a few seconds. Or at least it was a few seconds in real life time. In Sasuke's mind, days went by with him just staring in shock at Sakura...an urge came back through him, something he knew all too well. The urge to avenge a loved one. The symptoms were there. The rage in mind. The sudden thirst for bloodlust. His fists clenching by themselves. His teeth gritting so hard, he had hurt himself. His mind felt like he was going to explode if didn't do anything soon.

Yes, the symtoms were all there. But Uchiha Sasuke did not get up and recklessly kill Hotohori Ranmaru that day. That day, Haruno Sakura's sobs distracted his rage for a split second. He took her wrists from her wet cheeks, and found she resisted and puller her hands back.

"Sakura..." he said. He had said her name a number of times when he had attempted to take her hands. But Sakura needed her hands to shield her face, her shame, her tears, which is why she wrestled them back. "Sakura, Sakura!" Sasuke said, a little louder and forecefully this time.

But Sakura did not comply, and Sasuke screamed, "_SAKURA_!"

Sakura didn't look at him in the eye the entire time, keeping her face between her knees. He had not seen her reaction to the whole thing. But after he screamed, Sakura's hands felt like jelly and he pulled her to him and wrapped her arms around him as he wrapped his arms around her. Sakura didn't even seem fazed by what was happening and fell into his arms willingly, crying on his chest.

She just needed to feel someone she loved comfort her. The love could be one-sided for all she knew, but she just needed it. The right emotions came at the right time for her and she felt calmler, still distraught, but calmer.

Sasuke didn't know why he did it. But as soon as her body made contact with his, his rage disappeared. He was still angry, don't get him wrong, but right now...

Sakura came first. He would just have to wait until he can kill Ranmaru for hurting her. 

* * *

><p>There were plenty of things Naruto did not understand. A lot of them. He didn't understand how people could be so cruel to someone they have never tried to understand. He didn't understand how people could love someone and hate them at the same time. And he certainly didn't understand how he was oblivious to Hinata's painfully obvious love for him. There were so many things he didn't understand, but usually, after looking at it a bit closer and after some time, it hit him like lightning and he kmew the answer perfectly.<p>

An unfortunately, he understood what might have happened.

And at that moment, when he realized that his best friend ran away from the balcony, hair frizzled and kimono wrinkled, from a man who adored her so much, who was unconcious, his mind went into one conclusion. He had hoped he was wrong.

But he wasn't going to wait.

Hiroshi only watched as the demon container began slapping around Ranmaru. Ranmaru had never cared for Hiroshi and the feeling was mutual, so Hiroshi did not even try to stop Naruto. He had known Ranmaru his whole life, much to his dismay, and he knew the great lengths Ranmaru went to get something he wanted. He would either take it, steal it, or destroy it. It was always how it worked. Hiroshi knew that Ranmaru was tyrinnical and would be a horrible king. But he had never thought Ranmaru would result to...something like this.

But then again, no one has ever said no to Ranmaru, either.

Still, Hiroshi could only watch in shock. Where did they go wrong, honestly? Tadashi and Hatsumomo were good parents. He and Kimi turned out alright. What went wrong wih Ranmaru?

There were no times to even begin asking these questions as Hiroshi saw his brother's unconcious eyes slowly and looked at Naruto in confusion, "What is the meaning of this...?" Ranmaru asked, in a dazed voice. He still saw stars and birds from Sakura's punch.

"What the _hell_ did you do to Sakura-chan?" Naruto said. Now Hiroshi's only known the boy for...twenty minutes or so? But either way, he had a hard time believing this loud and friendly blond is responsible for one of the greatest battles in ninja history. Now, seeing the fury in his eyes and the harshness in his voice, Hiroshi began to understand better.

"...Haruno-san? What do you mean? _She_'s the one who did _this_ to me!" Ranmaru said, gesturing at himself.

"Yeah, you look crappier than usual, Hotohori but I figure it means Sakura-chan beat the crap out of you and she doesn't do that for no reason, so what the hell did you do to make her so angry?!" Naruto yelled.

Hiroshi closed his eyes. A part of him didn't want to know what Ranmaru had done. He was afraid to be reminded that he was the brother of an evil, tyrinnical little boy playing at a man's game. He knew Ranmaru had been using Sakura, and who knows what else he's been doing before? Either way, Hiroshi could not prove Ranmaru did anything. But the look in his eyes was proof enough for him.

Naruto waited for Ranmaru's answer, not really sure whether he wanted to know. He knew he needed to but will he be able to contain his rage if he knew what Ranmaru had done?

'No. He couldn't have done that...this is Sakura-chan we're talking about. She's so much stronger than that.' he told himself.

Unfortunately, his worst fears seemed to be confirmed when King Tadashi rushed in, "Sons, Uzumaki-san...we need to talk, in the throne room. Now."

* * *

><p>No one had helped Ranmaru walk. For all they cared, he could be crawling down on his hands and feet. Hiroshi tried to tell himself that Ranmaru would not be so foolish that he would even dare try to take on one of the most infamous kunoichi. And Naruto, well...there were rare times in his life when he decided to take a step back and just <em>focus<em> on his consequences.

He knew that if, Kami forbid, he had misunderstood the situation, he would be held accountable for harming a prince. This could cause trouble for both Konoha and his teammate. The last thing he needed was another war on his hands and it meant a lot to him, Sakura and Sasuke that this mission goes well. He did not want to be the reason Uchiha Sasuke can no longer be a ninja.

But...if he did misunderstood the situation, he would need to hear the real story. Because from what he saw, the story is unmistakeable. It was one of the hardest moments of his life.

Ranmaru was lagging a bit behind. The feast had ended and King Tadashi had prevuously mentioned that they were all needed in the throne room, where they had first met Tadashi and Hatsumomo.

Sure enough, when they entered, Naruto saw Sakura and Sasuke, both out of their fancy kimono and into their leisure clothes. Naruto noticed how unusually close Sasuke was to Sakura. Sasuke was always protective of Sakura, whether he realized it or not. But there was something different that time. King Tadashi wore a concerned, worried look on his face while Hatsumomo's expression was just a little hint of a smirk.

When Ranmaru came in, the first thing Naruto saw was a blur of dark gray and blue before Sasuke jumped on Ranmaru.

"_You. Son. Of. A. Bitch_." Sasuke said, punching after every word he had said. The guards were rather slow compared to Sasuke, who had been able to do a great deal of damage to Ranmaru's face before the guards tried to hold him back.

"Guards, seize him!" Hatsumomo yelled. The guards jumped on him like a pile but he pushed them all off effortlessly.

"Uchiha-san, please, this won't solve anything!" Hiroshi said.

"Teme, stop it and listen to us!" Naruto pleaded.

"Uchiha Sasuke, by order of the King, stop at once!" Tadashi yelled, watching in fear as one of the most fearsome ninja beat his son.

"Sasuke-kun, stop!" Sakura begged, but he didn't stop. He had barely talked to Sakura after it happened, he just stood there and held her in silence, which she was thankful for. He didn't understand Sakura sometimes, but when it came to her emotions, knowing when she just needed someone there, that he knew. It was torture when one of the guards came rushing in on both of them, asking them if there was a problem. Sasuke told him to send Tadashi there and when he came, they had explained to him what Ranmaru had tried to do.

The feast ended at that point and here they were. Sakura worried about what would happen, how she would react to seeing Ranmaru again when what she should have been worrying about was Sasuke's actions.

Sakura ran to him and, using force, grab his shoulders and pulled him off Ranmaru. A familiar look in his eyes told Sakura that there would be nothing in this world that could stop him. His Sharingan had activated by accident, by his anger. She had not seen those eyes in a long time because there had never been a fight so important to him that he would use them in a long time. She pushed him and wrapped her arms around his, preventing him from moving them. Her eyes met his and it was like déjà vu. Years ago, those eyes belonged to a confused boy in search for power and revenge. Now it belonged to someone filled with regret and anger towards someone who tried to hurt someone they cared so much for.

Everyone else, except for Ranmaru who was still holding his face in agony, could only watch in amazement as the Uchiha, who was ready to kill and to kill anyone who stood in his way, suddenly calm down. His anger disappearing slowly but surely. Naruto didn't notice but he smiled. Only she could have that effect on him.

But...'How does she do that?' Sasuke wondered. How could she stop something not even he could stop? His eyes were locked into hers as if they were his sanctuary, his own escape from the world. Which was absurd, because she was the one who needed a sanctuary...right?

A moment of silence took the room, when no one could hear anything. Tadashi and Hatsumomo had rushed to Ranmaru's side.

"Guards, seize him!" Ranmaru yelled as soon as the pain left. He broke the silence in a second and stopped whatever trance Sakura had put Sasuke in and all heads turned to him. Sasuke's anger was coming back but Sakura tightened her grip on him just a bit so he would remember she was still there.

"Now, Ranmaru, stop, we need to discuss this like adults..." Tadashi said calmly. Hatsumomo looked at Tadashi in disbelief, "Are you going to believe a TRAITOR as opposed to your own son?"

Sakura, who was previous preoccupied with Sasuke, turned around but still held Sasuke's arms behind her, "Don't call him that! You don't know anything about him!"

"Really? So you all didn't try to kill each other at some point?" Hatsumomo challenged. Sakura was about to answer until Naruto cut in, "HEY LADY! You don't know the whole story so until you do, keep your mouth shut!" he yelled.

"How dare you speak like that to a Queen? Do you know I could have your very life removed from this earth right now if I wanted to? Why, I'm even beginning to think that I shou-"

"Finish that sentence and the only 'life-removing' there'll be will be yours!" Sakura snapped.

"Is that a threat?" Hatsumomo said in shock.

"No, it's a promise." Sasuke answered for her. So he won't be able to fight, but he'll do it with his words.

"That is it, guards, see to it that Team Seven is execute-" "_SILENCE, ALL OF YOU_!" Tadashi finally yelled.

His voice resonated and everyone's attention was on him. That's what made him such a great king. He knew when to end something. And right now, a small part of him resented Uchiha Sasuke for punching his son but he also knew his son was cruel and conniving and didn't know what to believe. It wasn't until he calmly walked to his throne and sat down that everyone had the mature discussion he was hoping to have from the beginning.

"I'll thank you all to be quiet unless I have granted you the right to speak." Tadashi announced, "We are all here because of a certain incident that took place during the feast. Haruno-san? Would you care to explain what happened?"

And just like that the courage Sakura displayed only seconds ago disappeared with the thought of what happened before. She didn't want to remember what happened to her and she was hoping to forget as soon as possible. Sadly, this was life, she realized, and it was hers, too, meaning she might never get wha she wants. "Well, I went out in the balcony because I felt like my obi was tied too tight."

Tadashi noted, motioning her to continue, "Then Ranmaru came in and...well, we had a bit of an argument at the beginning of the feast."

"What kind of argument?" Hatsumomo asked.

"I felt offended." Sakura said.

"Offended? I have done nothing but introduce you to the most powerful clans in all of Tsuki, if anything, you should feel honored!" Ranmaru spat, but immediately cowered when he saw the look Naruto and Sasuke gave him.

"I felt offended because you introduced me as some kind of decoration. You didn't allow me to speak once. Did you think I was some kind of doll that doesn't have anything better to do than to look pretty?" Sakura spat.

"You may have mistook it for that, but I did not! In fact, the whole night, you had this look on your face practically begging me to kiss you and when that's what I do, you try to kill me!" Ranmaru protested.

"What?! Anyone and everyone can absolutely tell you that I have as much intentions kissing you as much as Naruto has as much intentions to give up ramen!" Sakura said.

"And that is _never_ going to happen!" Naruto added.

And what happened next, Sakura took a deep breath as she prepared her next words, "And don't act as if you only tried to kiss me because we both know you tried to do so much more than that..." she breathed.

Sasuke fists clenched so tightly he felt his fingernails dig into the palm of his hand. He had done his damage and immediately felt Sakura's hand quickly pull his wrist down. Naruto, on the other hand, had now just begun to realize his fears had been correct. Sasuke could only watch as his eyes widened and a familiar form of chakra was on its way subconciously.

"You...actually did that to her..." he murmured as he glared at Ranmaru. Both Sasuke and Sakura knew what would happen, and both in unison, threw themselves before Naruto and held him from jumping on Ranmaru and ripping his heart out, "Teme, Sakura-chan, let me go!" he ordered, but Sakura shook her head, "Naruto, stop, you're only making things worst!"

"Dobe, I know you're angry but think of what will happen if you don't stop right. Now." Sasuke said through clenched teeth. It was funny to think that only a few seconds ago, Naruto was the one holding Sasuke back. But Sasuke was pleased to see the blond knucklehead actually had some sense in him to stop struggling and give up.

For a moment, Sakura realized just how much 'her boys' had grown. She thought back to years ago during their childhood when they would do the most reckless things despite consequences. Now that they were faced with something that hurt her, she was relieved they listened to reason.

"Haruno-san, how are we to know the truth? I find it awfully conveniant that you two were alone. How are we to know that you have not planned the whole thing to accuse my son of something he didn't do?" Hatsumomo asked.

"Mother, you're being ridiculous!" Hiroshi exclaimed. Hatsumomo ignored her son as if he wasn't really there.

"And why would I do that?" Sakura challenged. As her teammates watched her, they knew that it was her breaking point and Ranmaru had sent her over the edge. And an angry Sakura was scary enough. A Sakura who had been bottling up her anger was just plain terrfying.

"To start a conflict? A battle? A war?" Hatsumomo offered, "Either way, we can't dismiss the fact that there were no witnesses therefore no one can tell if you are telling the truth."

"There's also no proof that I'm lying." Sakura said, "Ask Naruto and Sasuke about it. I have felt nothing for your son, who has been the one giving me unwanted advances!"

"And how can we trust the words of YOUR cohorts?" Hatsumomo asked, "You know what? I'm starting to think you did this on purpose. Throw yourself at my son, then when you seduce and mistake him into thinking you are attracted to him, you hit him with the silly excuse that he harassed you just so you can go back to your miserable little village and create a conflict!"

"_What_?! You think that this is a plan?! Why would I want war? Of all people, why would _we_ want war, we ended it!" Sakura yelled.

Naruto and Sasuke were beyond outraged at this point, "Are you nuts, lady?! Sakura-chan would never do that!"

"King Tadashi, control your wife." Sasuke spat.

"Father, I must agree with the rest of Team Seven. We both know how Ranmaru is and I find it hard to believe that Sakura-san would even do such a thing." Hiroshi quipped.

"Oh, please, Hiroshi, they are ninjas! They've been trained to lie, manipulate and decieve people." Hatsumomo glared.

"No, we're trained to protect people." Naruto said through clenched teeth.

"No matter how much they don't deserve it." Sasuke added.

"And if you think otherwise, you're as delusional as your son." Sakura said.

"Hatsumomo, Hiroshi, Ranmaru, Haruno-san, I'm afraid that both sides have their points and I...can't punish any of you without proof." Tadashi said.

"_WHAT_?!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sasuke sneered, "That's not good enough, your son needs to be punished and-" "Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura called him, stopping them with her arm. Her eyes turned to theirs and she frowned, "It seems like there's nothing we can do. I...apologize, King Tadashi, and I hope you understand but I can't stay in Tsuki any longer."

"If she's not staying, I'm not staying!" Naruto said standing by her side. Sasuke said nothing but as he stood close by Sakura, they could all tell he was with them, too.

Tadashi sighed, "I suppose I can't blame you...I apologize for the circumstances, Team Seven and-" "_WAIT A MINUTE_!" Ranmaru yelled.

All eyes turned to him as he struggled to finally stand on his own two feet. Everyone stared at him, wondering what he was going to say. "I'm afraid I can't allow Sakura-san to leave."

"Why the hell not?" Sasuke seethed. Sasuke was too busy glaring at Ranmaru and Sakura was too frozen in fear to see the exchanged look between Ranmaru and the Queen. With a deep breath, Ranmaru said something no one had expected him to say.

"Haruno Sakura is a fine woman. Apprentice of the Godaime Hokage, and a member of the infamous Team Seven, which is rumoured to be the Second Sannin. Beautiful, smart, strong, she's a fine prize to be won. And while we may have had our...differences, I find myself unable to have any other feelings for her than the ones I do now. Which is why I ask, no, demand her hand in marriage. Her hand in marriage will determine Konoha's alliegance with Tsuki. Should she refuse, well...I imagine you are all smart enough to know the consequences." Ranmaru smirked, "It will be war."

It just takes a second to break someone's life. But that second is always the longest second of anyone's life.

And just like that, everyone knew nothing would ever be the same again.  
><strong><br>**

* * *

><p><strong>AN: I am loving the response towards Ranmaru. If you guys hate him, and if Queen Hatsumomo scares the living crap out of you, it means I'm doing the job right. One argued that Ranmaru should be at least a bit nice for him to be less boring. While that is true and I could have done that, I didn't want to. Why does every villain have to have a backstory or a deceptively charming personality? Whatever happened to the good old fashioned evil-for-just-being-evil villain? So, sorry to disappoint, but Ranmaru will stay a hopeless mean son of a bitch. Oh, but don't worry. It will be very...interesting later on. That's all I can say without giving out too many spoilers. What I can do, though, is do a little Ranmaru POV. I did Hatsumomo's POV and it was to show how vanity can really blind someone. I know someone a lot like her. I know what you're thinking, don't we all? Well...this person's vanity clouded her judgement a bit too much, and nobody liked her very much because of it. When I think of 'ugly on the inside', I think of her.<strong>

**Okay, I know some of you would have probably wanted Sasuke to save Sakura during that Almost Rape scene. See, this is what I don't get. Thousands of fanfics out there glorifying Sakura as a hero and as a equal to her teammates, yet stumble accross a couple of none-important bandits then boom, Sakura reverts back to the damsel in distress. I understand it's for the sake of the romance, but most of the time, it just pisses me off. Besides, would any of you really believe me if I said that Sakura needed help against RANMARU? Anyway, I think I more than made up for it with that penultimate scene. I always wanted Kishi to write a Shippuden Sakura-stopping-Sasuke-from-a-murdering-rampage scene that parallelled to the Chuunin exams scene.**

**AND OH MY FREAKING GOD I JUST SAW BRAVE AND LIL SPOILERS: the relationship Merida had with her mother was EXACTLY like the relationship I planned for Sakura and her mom, it was scary. So keep in mind that while some of the characters are influenced by many other shows I watch, I never based Sakura/Sakumi on Merida/Elinor.**

**And in short to this long ass AN, if you're interested in a Ranmaru POV about the whole thing, tell me in a review!**


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